Several ethics experts have called the release of the $TRUMP and $Melania memecoins ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House a blatant case of speculation.
Experts said they could not recall a more obvious attempt at profiteering by the presidential couple.
“This is literally profiteering from the presidency — creating a financial vehicle for people to send money to the president’s family because of his office,” said Adav Noti, executive director of the nonprofit Campaign Legal Centre.
Brave New Coin columnist Troy Miller said the incoming US president had shown the world behavior that “bordered on absolutism.”
“Instead of a celebration of unity and inclusivity, Crypto’s gala turned into a betrayal as Trump flipped the script in a ruthless show of force and reminded everyone that the real game is his,” Miller wrote.
The opinion of the ethics experts was supported by cryptanalyst Justin D’Anethan, who stated:
“It’s tempting to dismiss the launch of $TRUMP and $Melania tokens as just another Trump hoax. However, the launch of official Trump tokens opens a Pandora’s box of ethical and regulatory questions.”
Experts from The Guardian noted that in the wave of excitement, few investors in $TRUMP and $Melania paid attention to the issuers’ disclaimer and statement. According to the document, memecoins are not an investment opportunity, an investment contract or a security of any kind.
Trump launched his own memecoin $TRUMP based on the Solana network. The asset was issued by CIC Digital, which previously created official NFT collections of the politician. It is reported that at least 80% of the tokens remained with the developers from CIC Digital, and only 20% can be distributed among investors.
