GETTING RICH

Trump’s Memecoin Made a Staggering Amount of Real Money

The president’s crypto project earned $350 million in the three weeks after it launched, according to a new analysis.

President Donald Trump’s memecoin $TRUMP earned $350 million in the three weeks after it launched in January, according to a new analysis from the Financial Times. Trump released the coin—a type of cryptocurrency that originated from an internet meme—just days before he returned to the White House on Jan. 20. The coin’s value quickly surged, netting $314 million from the sale of tokens and $36 million in fees, which are paid in exchange for providing liquidity to the crypto market. Critics have blasted the coin as a way to anonymously funnel money to the president and a major conflict of interest. On Thursday, Trump issued an executive order directing the Treasury Department to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve holding five cryptocurrencies. That means the government will likely be actively buying and selling crypto, despite its history as a volatile and speculative investment. On Friday, Trump planned to meet with crypto executive to discuss a framework for the reserve at the first-ever White House Crypto Summit. The industry contributed more than $130 million to his re-election campaign, The New York Times reported in November.