The idea of a cryptocurrency asset inspired by US President Donald Trump may have sounded like a joke not long ago, but it became reality on January 17th, 2025, a few days before the inauguration. The lack of an official public announcement led some to believe that the coin was a scam, but the president himself announced the Donald Trump coin on his social media pages a few hours ago. The hype began right away, as there were many supporters who had been waiting for an asset such as this for quite some time already.
However, its popularity has raised concerns about copycats exploiting the hype to deceive unsuspecting investors, and even create rug pull schemes and other fraudulent machinations in order to rake in huge profits.
The imitators
The cryptocurrency environment is known for its penchant for innovation and development, with investors constantly on the lookout for the latest assets they could add to their portfolios in order to diversify their holdings. But when there’s a lot of hype around a certain digital product, the number of scams also rises exponentially, as cybercriminals want to profit as well. And in the crypto ecosystem the profits can be massive. $trump is the latest asset to deal with this situation, as imitators have started creating their own coins which mimic the original in a bid to dupe traders and profit off of their inattention.
Over 700 spam coins have been sent directly to Donald Trump’s digital wallet in an attempt to suggest that the holdings have his full endorsement. This gargantuan number has been amassed in as little as three weeks, and approximately 200 crypto tokens are named after Trump himself or members of his family. Some, including members of the crypto community, have criticized Trump’s decision to launch meme coins due to their highly speculative nature, believing that the inflated popularity that would be undeniably attached to any crypto asset that is connected to such an important figure.
Others believe that it was a great idea and that it will revitalize the crypto marketplace even further. Meme coins have become increasingly popular over the last few years, with many traders attracted by their lower prices which make them seem more accessible and manageable compared to their peers. Trump coin could, therefore, create a precedent so that more public figures come up with similar products in the future.
The issue
The creators of these fake meme coins are exploiting a specific feature of the Solana blockchain, the platform which hosts $trump as well. This feature lets users add new coins to another wallet without the need for any special permission. That means that anyone has the ability to create meme coins with the help of online generators. Users don’t require any coding skills in order to create their own currencies, and while that is definitely a good thing for accessibility, it can be a liability for safety and security, as well as create challenges for some investors.
New and beginner investors are more likely to have a difficult time trying to separate genuine projects from copycats and can end up being tricked into making transactions they never intended to make in the first place. In the case of Trump coin, many of the fakes also include the word “official” in their title, while several others reference Elon Musk, the Tesla chief executive, Trump ally, and Twitter and SpaceX owner, whose name could add an extra layer of legitimacy for potential investors.
Some unusual transactions have been noted as well, with an individual purchasing approximately $100,000 of a fake meme coin, only to sell all of it less than twenty seconds later for a slight loss. Most of these coins are also very illiquid, so it is difficult to determine precisely how many of them were added to the wallet. In some cases, exchanges have become overwhelmed as a result of the large number of coins being created and deployed on the platforms. There are several who have expressed the need for a changed listing process going into the future in order to ensure the integrity of the original assets, but a new system will have to be implemented since the sheer number of new tokens makes it impossible to evaluate every new one individually.
Staying safe
The crypto marketplace is notoriously volatile and changeable. The investors also have to look out for themselves and their assets in order to stay safe throughout the process. The idea of copycat coins can sound fairly scary and make traders worry about the possibility of losing money on unwanted assets that have no inherent value, but it’s not all doom and gloom. Having a good idea about the names of the currencies you’re trading is the first step. The titles of these tokens don’t change, so only stick with the ones that you know and double-check just to make sure.
Secondly, you should always keep up with the news when you’re a crypto investor. Things change so quickly, and if you’re not aware of the latest developments, you may end up creating trouble for yourself. If any member of the Trump family launches a cryptocurrency in their own name, there will definitely be official announcements for it. If you don’t find any after doing your research, then it is safe to assume that the token in question is most likely fake, and you should stay away from it to avoid losses.
The future
The future has always been fairly uncertain when it comes to cryptocurrencies due to the constant price shifts. Since the marketplace is fully decentralized, the latest news developments can affect it more strongly than it does other asset classes. The prospect of a difficult trade situation in the future as a result of the tariffs can see several cryptocurrencies be affected, including $trump. While some will definitely be more resilient, it’s quite possible that others will deal with serious repercussions.
It remains to be seen what the future holds for cryptocurrencies in general and Trump coin in particular but, as always, it’s important for investors to have a strong and reliable strategy they can lean on when they need to.
