President Donald Trump’s goodwill in the cryptocurrency industry has taken a hit after he and his wife launched meme coins — a move critics say looks like an unseemly cash grab that undermines an effort to legitimize digital assets.

Summary

Donald Trump launched a meme coin during his inauguration celebrations, prompting backlash from the crypto industry.

While Trump has pledged pro-crypto reforms and appointed industry-friendly officials, critics say his meme coin venture undermines efforts to legitimize digital assets, branding it as a “cash grab.”

The coin, initially priced at $70, dropped to $45 after First Lady Melania Trump launched her own meme coin.

Crypto leaders fear the association with meme coins damages the industry’s credibility as a serious financial sector.

The Trump Organization organized the sale of the coins, which are marketed as expressions of support rather than investment opportunities.

  • @[email protected]
    10•1 day ago

    Crypto leaders fear the association with meme coins damages the industry’s credibility as a serious financial sector.

    No worry there, nobody is under any illusion that crypto is anything other than a scam. Trump simply confirms what everybody who hasn’t been living under a rock for the past 15 years already knows.

    • Flying Squid
      4•20 hours ago

      nobody is under any illusion that crypto is anything other than a scam.

      I wish that was true. Not too long ago right here on Lemmy there was some bitcoin zealot who could not understand why its constantly fluctuating value make it pretty useless as a currency for everyday use. Apparently there are also 100,000,000 satoshis to the bitcoin and those are literally the only two tiers. And that same person couldn’t understand why people would find that super fucking hard to work with.