President Donald Trump’s goodwill in the cryptocurrency industry has taken a hit after he and his wife launched meme coins — a move critics say looks like an unseemly cash grab that undermines an effort to legitimize digital assets.

Summary

Donald Trump launched a meme coin during his inauguration celebrations, prompting backlash from the crypto industry.

While Trump has pledged pro-crypto reforms and appointed industry-friendly officials, critics say his meme coin venture undermines efforts to legitimize digital assets, branding it as a “cash grab.”

The coin, initially priced at $70, dropped to $45 after First Lady Melania Trump launched her own meme coin.

Crypto leaders fear the association with meme coins damages the industry’s credibility as a serious financial sector.

The Trump Organization organized the sale of the coins, which are marketed as expressions of support rather than investment opportunities.

  • Lanusensei87@lemmy.world
    28·
    2 months ago

    Crypto leaders fear the association with meme coins damages the industry’s credibility as a serious financial sector.

    Bit late for that.

    • Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works
      8·
      2 months ago

      I stopped caring about crypto once I realized that me and like 14 other people were the only ones who seemed to actually care about the technology behind it and it’s possible uses… pretty much everyone else was a speculator.

      The most useless things get value, anything that isn’t about building coin value loses interest. Anything useful inherently isn’t going to shoot up in value (because you know… People are using them and not sitting on them).

  • Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works
    11·
    2 months ago

    “Oh shit, we threw in with an obvious grifter and he turned out to be a total grifter! Who could have predicted this!?”

      • Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works
        5·
        2 months ago

        Honestly, “a collection of grifters expecting everyone around them to not be a grifter despite all evidence to the contrary” is probably one of the best possible descriptions of the crypto world.

        But then I suppose really it’s just an apt description of all forms of libertarianism, a philosophy premised on the notion that a world where the total freedom to fuck everyone over will somehow result in no one getting fucked over.

  • nolannice@lemmy.world
    3·
    2 months ago

    Was pardoning Ulbricht supposed to be throwing a bone to the crypto community after the backlash? I genuinely can’t understand why he was pardoned.