A prominent cryptocurrency whale suffered a $207,000 loss from trading the Official Trump (TRUMP) meme coin within an hour on March 23rd.
Interestingly, this whale had previously turned an investment of 1.09 million USDC into nearly $108 million by purchasing 5.97 million TRUMP tokens at an earlier stage.
$207K Gone in an Hour
According to blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain’s latest update, the trader spent 5 million USDC stablecoin to buy TRUMP immediately after US President Donald Trump publicly endorsed the token on TruthSocial. The post read,
“I LOVE $TRUMP — SO COOL!!! The Greatest of them all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
This tweet triggered a surge in the token’s price above $12.25 on Sunday. However, extreme volatility followed, leading to the trader selling off the holdings an hour later at a loss. Trump’s endorsement of the Solana-based meme coin spiked trading volumes to their highest levels in weeks.
Ahead of Inauguration Day on January 20, both President Trump and Melania Trump launched official meme coins. TRUMP saw a rapid rise above $70 days later but now trades at around $11.92 after a massive crash. Meanwhile, MELANIA peaked near $13 before falling to roughly $0.69 within a period of two months.
The launch initially sparked political controversy. The criticism also stemmed from claims that the meme coin capitalized on Trump’s name without providing any genuine value to the cryptocurrency industry.
Subsequently, Rep. Sam Liccardo introduced the MEME Act which seeks to block senior government officials and their families from promoting or issuing cryptocurrencies like meme coins. The bill also mandates President Trump to return any profits earned from his family’s meme coin ventures.
Meme Coins and Regulation
According to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), meme coins like the TRUMP token are not considered securities and, therefore, aren’t subject to the SEC’s regulation. The agency explained last month that meme coins are digital assets driven by online trends or memes and aim to attract online communities.
As these assets focus on fan engagement rather than investment returns, the federal securities regulator views them as collectibles, and not financial securities, thereby placing them outside the typical regulatory framework for securities.
The SEC’s statement aligned with comments made by Commissioner Hester Peirce, who leads the agency’s Crypto Task Force, established in January to reshape crypto regulations. Peirce mentioned in an interview that many meme coins fall outside the SEC’s regulatory reach.
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