Insider trading allegations have come to the surface as the TRUMP memecoin inundates Solana decentralized exchanges (DEXs).
Suspicious trading activities have emerged in relation to US President - elect Donald Trump's Solana - based Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin. As its market capitalization soared to a staggering $42 billion, it attracted a horde of retail investors.
On January 18, Bubblemaps, an on - chain analytics firm, delved into a crypto wallet that was funded with $1 million four hours prior to the launch of the TRUMP token. On - chain data shows that this wallet bought $5.9 million worth of TRUMP tokens in the very first minute of its launch. Later, it sold $20 million worth of tokens while still holding on to $96 million worth of tokens. The TRUMP tokens were then routed through another wallet and distributed to 10 other wallets, which are now actively selling on Solana DEXs. This trading pattern has stoked concerns about possible market manipulation, especially as the TRUMP memecoin continues to make headlines.
Preetam Rao, the CEO of QuillAudits, a Web3 security company, voiced concerns regarding the allocation structure and purpose of the TRUMP token. "Eighty percent of the supply is locked for CIC Digital, a company owned by the Donald Trump Revocable Trust. This is the same entity that launched Trump NFT Trading Cards three years ago. The website says it’s ‘not an investment but a show of support,’" Rao stated. Rao also pointed out that the top 10 holders possess 89.06% of the supply, and the status of the liquidity pool burn remains unclear. "Interestingly, the token was launched in an Asian morning time zone. It gives the impression that this is just a way for Trump to make money," he added. He told Cointelegraph,
"We can see some insider traders involved, but I feel if the US government is supporting projects to set a roadmap for innovation in the country. Maybe it’s a rug pull, but it lays the foundation for innovation."
TRUMP Memecoin Goes Mainstream
The token's popularity skyrocketed when major crypto exchanges Coinbase and Binance announced the listing of TRUMP.
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According to CoinGecko, TRUMP trading witnessed substantial activity in the last 24 hours. Bitget led with trading volume amounting to $864.9 million, followed by MEXC at $842.7 million and KuCoin at $445.2 million. At the time of writing, TRUMP has surged 194% in the last 24 hours and is trading at $54.62.
Meanwhile, Solana's ecosystem experienced a huge spike in activity. Solana's largest DEX, Raydium, raked in $25.07 million in fees and $2.85 million in revenue, setting a new record high for the platform, as per DefiLlama. The MEME trading tool GMGN processed $153 million in Solana transactions, earning $1.52 million in fees. The Moonshot crypto trading platform recorded $1.597 million in fees. Moonshot processed nearly $400 million in volume over the past 12 hours, shattering records for fiat on - ramp usage and bringing over 200,000 new users on - chain.
In the midst of the hype, some on X (formerly Twitter) speculated about a potential “USA coin” as the next project. However, Eric Trump dispelled these rumors, clarifying that no such project was in the works.
Bitcoiners Criticize Trump’s Memecoin Launch
The Bitcoin community has responded vehemently to Trump's Solana - based memecoin. They have criticized it as being opportunistic and fundamentally contrary to Bitcoin's principles.
Brandon Quittem, the vice president of revenue at Swan Bitcoin, posted on X, "Trump coin is such an extreme case of shitcoinery it will ultimately help differentiate Bitcoin further. Trumpcoin is a get - rich - quick scheme, it’s nothing like Bitcoin."
Pierre Rochard, the vice president of research at Riot Platforms, stressed that Bitcoin's design is fundamentally different.
Will Cole, a Bitcoin advocate and head of product at Zaprite, labeled the memecoin "pump - and - dump - as - a - service. Wealth transfer from Gen Z and Millennials to Boomers. Brought to you by Ethereum and Solana."