President Donald Trump has made his first public statements about Official Trump (TRUMP), the memecoin he launched last Friday and skyrocketed over the weekend. Trump revealed that he doesn’t have extensive knowledge of it aside from its launch.
“I don’t know much about it other than I launched it. I heard it was very successful, I haven’t checked it,” said Trump, speaking to a group of reporters on Tuesday.
By the time he spoke, his TRUMP memecoin had already achieved a market cap of $8 billion, though it was launched less than a week ago. The token now trades at $42, down about 43% from its peak, according to CoinGecko.
No Big Surprise
When told by a reporter that his Solana-based token hit billions of dollars in just days, President Trump responded with a grin “several billion? That’s peanuts for these guys,” gesturing toward SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, and Oracle’s Larry Ellison, who were present.
Trump on Tuesday also announced the launch of “Stargate,” a $500 billion AI infrastructure initiative aimed at establishing AI data centers across the U.S.
Backed by OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle, the venture plans to generate approximately 100,000 jobs in the U.S. The initial investment for Stargate will be $100 billion, with plans to increase the total investment to $500 billion over the next four years.
Trump’s Memecoin Sparks Political Controversy and Threatens Crypto Legislation
The launch of TRUMP has stirred political tensions and crypto community controversy. It has also raised questions about its impact on U.S. cryptocurrency laws.
According to TD Cowen’s Washington Research Group, led by Jaret Seiberg, Democrats are preparing to investigate whether foreign governments or businesses may have used the coin to gain influence on Trump.
Seiberg said in a note on Tuesday that the memecoin could create challenges for lawmakers trying to agree on a bipartisan bill to regulate the crypto market.
Crypto legislation is seen as critical for clearing up legal uncertainties and helping the crypto industry grow. However, the controversy over Trump’s coin is likely to deepen divisions between Democrats and Republicans, making cooperation even harder.
Democrats, led by California Representative Maxine Waters, have criticized the memecoin. Waters called it “the worst of crypto” and raised concerns about its lack of transparency. She warned that it could allow anonymous money transfers to Trump and his associates, potentially bypassing national security and anti-corruption laws.
Waters also pointed out that investors could lose money if insiders cash out unexpectedly.
Seiberg suggested that one way forward might be to separate investigations into Trump’s memecoin from ongoing efforts to pass crypto legislation. This could allow lawmakers to continue working on the bill while others handle the investigations.
Despite the controversy, Seiberg pointed out that delays in passing crypto laws were already expected. Both parties are likely to push any final decisions on crypto regulation to 2026 as they focus on mid-term elections.
According to an earlier report from the New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG), Trump’s crypto promises may not come immediately as Congress will likely prioritize other major issues like geopolitical, budget negotiations, and trade policies.
The Republican-controlled Congress is expected to push for revisions to crypto bills like the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21) and stablecoin legislation. These revisions may prioritize innovation over strict oversight but could delay legislative action until later in 2025 or beyond.
Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order to commute Ross Ulbricht’s sentence, one of the key promises he made during his presidential campaign. The founder of the Silk Road marketplace is finally freed after serving over 11 years in prison.
Cryptocurrency market members expect Trump to establish a national Bitcoin reserve or end the practice of debanking next.
The Trump administration fulfilled key regulatory positions earlier this week, including appointing Caroline Pham to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). However, the position at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) remains vacant.
