Now Pay With Trump Coin At McDonald’s
The market value of a new cryptocurrency, Trump Coin, soared to over $10 billion as Donald Trump began his second term as President of the United States.
The cryptocurrency, launched on 20.01.2024, experienced substantial trading volume which contributed to its rapid rise. In parallel, Bitcoin also hit an all-time high just hours before Trump’s inauguration.
The “meme coin,” as it is colloquially known, enjoyed a meteoric rise from under $10 on Saturday morning to a high of $74.59, though it has since given back some of those gains.
The launch included branding referencing an assassination attempt on Trump in July, marking an expansion of its forays into the cryptocurrency world through World Liberty Financial.
In related news, Melania Trump introduced her own cryptocurrency, $MELANIA Coin, on Sunday. This too saw a significant price increase, quickly reaching a market cap of over $1 billion. The majority of Trump Coin tokens, around 80%, are held by CIC Digital, an entity affiliated with Trump’s businesses, and another organization called Fight, Fight, Fight.
The official $Trump website states that the coins represent “an expression of support for and commitment to the ideals and beliefs embodied by the symbol ‘$TRUMP'” and clarifies that they should not be considered an investment or security.
Crypto payment app Oobit announced that $Trump can now be used for one-tap payments, enabling everyday purchases with the Solana-based memecoin.
This breakthrough was highlighted by the idea of using $Trump to pay at fast food chains, such as McDonald’s. One tweet suggested the ease of saying “I’ll pay with TRUMP” at the checkout, illustrating the potential everyday use of this cryptocurrency.
Singapore-based cryptocurrency platform Oobit has further expanded the token’s utility by allowing EU users to make everyday purchases (such as buying meals at McDonald’s) using $TRUMP tokens through a tap-and-pay feature in Oobit.
Oobit enables cryptocurrency holders to “Tap and Pay” at over 100 million retailers worldwide, leveraging the existing Visa and Mastercard networks in a similar way to Apple Pay.
Despite the success of the memecoin and Trump’s previous campaign promises in favor of cryptocurrencies, digital assets did not figure in the administration’s official “America’s Priorities.” Instead, the president’s agenda focused on public safety, energy independence, government reform, and traditional American values.
Speculations about Trump issuing an executive order to establish a Bitcoin strategic reserve also fell through on January 20. However, market analysts remain optimistic that crypto-related initiatives will emerge during his second term. Oddsmakers at Polymarket, a decentralized prediction platform, still estimate a one in three chance that a Bitcoin reserve will be announced within Trump’s first 100 days in office.
