Trump Family’s Memecoins Could Signal New Altseason, Analysts Suggest

• The Trump family’s memecoins might mark the beginning of a new era in cryptocurrency investment.
• Analysts anticipate a shift in investment from major assets to high-risk, smaller cryptocurrencies.
• Despite its potential, there is criticism regarding the rapid launch strategy, suggesting a possible “pump and dump” scheme.

The recent introduction of memecoins by the Trump family is poised to possibly usher in a new ‘era of memecoins‘ attracting more retail interest in cryptocurrencies beyond the conventional giants like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

These memecoins, associated with the Trump family, launched just before the US presidential inauguration, are speculated to trigger a significant wave of retail investor adoption for high-risk crypto assets, including memecoins and lesser-known cryptocurrencies.

Following up on the reports in ETHNews about Trump’s new term, the memecoin market witnessed substantial activity with the launch of the Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin on January 18 and the Official Melania (MELANIA) token the following day on the Solana network. 

Anndy Lian, an author and expert in blockchain for government applications, described these events as a “pivotal moment” for the cryptocurrency industry.

“It’s fascinating to consider this as a revival of the ICO craze, amplified by significant market capital and global influence. This isn’t just another token launch; it’s backed by the kind of coordinated financial groups and celebrity endorsement that can drive market caps into the billions, showcasing a scale and impact not seen before in the memecoin sector.”

He elaborated that these launches could be seen as a modern revival of the ICO frenzy, amplified by significant market capital and global influence, with the potential to elevate market caps to unprecedented levels.

The market response to the Trump token was mixed

After achieving a peak market cap of $14.9 billion on January 19, it experienced a sharp decline of over 27% to a market cap of $10.8 billion, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

This decline coincided with the launch of the MELANIA token , which saw the TRUMP token market cap decrease by $5 billion in just 40 minutes, with its price dropping 38% from $74.6 to $45.9.

Ki Young Ju, the CEO of CryptoQuant, highlighted that this development could herald a new era for political memecoins.

Trump Opened the Era of Meme Coins

For retail investors, financial markets have always been about chasing memes. Following trends is nothing new—it’s just how they’ve always operated. Even the decades-long mantra of “invest in the S&P 500” that many followed for their pensions…

— Ki Young Ju (@ki_young_ju) January 20, 2025

He emphasized the persistent nature of financial markets that increasingly behave like memes, suggesting that this trend is unlikely to fade and might encourage the emergence of more meme-like assets in the unrestricted, global crypto market.

“The Trump administration has embraced free markets instead of regulated markets, and over the next four years, we’re likely to see all kinds of experiments with meme-driven communities in the crypto,” Ju said.

Valentin Fournier from Blockhead Research Network pointed out that such shifts indicate a broader rotation of capital towards smaller, higher-risk assets, predicting that altcoins might outperform Bitcoin and Ethereum in the near future.

However, not all feedback is positive. Some critics have accused the Trump team of engaging in a “pump and dump” scheme with these rapid token launches, which reportedly added billions to the net worth of the incoming US president and the first lady.