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Donald Trump drew plenty of criticism by launching his own branded memecoin three days before his inauguration, including from the crypto community which argued he was making a mockery of the crypto world by tying himself to the memecoin world, which could damage efforts to make crypto reforms. And so, in the two-plus weeks since he has taken office, the value of the Trump coin has dropped precipitously. Trumps $TRUMP coin, which can be used to buy his Trump-themed sneakers, watches, and fragrances, had lost another 6% of its value Tuesday afternoon, falling to $16.63 each. While that still gives the token a market cap of $3.3 billion, its nothing compared to where it stood on January 19. On the eve of his second term, Trumps memecoin hit an all-time high of $75.35 per token and a market cap of $14.5 billion. Chainalysis data, as reported by Reuters, found that 29 large buyers each held more than $10 million-worth of the memecoins, with five holding more than $100 million each. The recent drop represents a loss of more than 75% of its value. A separate memecoin launched by Melania Trump, has suffered similar losses, falling from $13.73 per token on January 20 to $1.60 on Tuesday, an 88% plunge. The $MELANIA loss would have been even larger if it hadn’t been in rally mode Tuesday, gaining nearly 17% from 24 hours prior. (As with many memecoins, its unclear whats driving the rally.) The sell-off of $TRUMP has been gaining momentum largely since he finished taking the oath of office. By the end of January 21, the coin had lost nearly half its value, falling to little more than $40. The recent declines have come amid Trumps tariff threats and growing fears of a trade war. The memecoin was down another 15% Monday as the deadline for the tariffs loomed and last-minute deals were struck. The loss of gains is not restricted to $TRUMP. Most cryptocurrencies have surrendered any gains theyve made since the first of the year, though Bitcoin is still up slightly. Thats due, in part, to ongoing threats to free trade, a position that many crypto owners support. The risk of higher prices on imported goods has also prompted investors to sell digital assets in order to lower risk and steer clear of volatility in their portfolios. Memecoins have been especially affected by the sell-off. Selling holdings like memecoins can also give owners access to cash, which could be handy if costs go up across the board. Tariffs aimed at goods from Mexico and China were suspended for at least 30 days Tuesday, but a 10% tariff on goods from China was enacted. China retaliated Tuesday, implementing a 15% tariff on coal and liquefied natural gas products from the U.S. and a 10% tariff on U.S. crude oil, agricultural machinery, and large-engine cars. Officials in Beijing also announced an anti-trust investigation into Google and enacted export controls on critical components of high-tech products. While the value of the Trump memecoin has taken a significant dive in the past two weeks, that hasnt stopped some parties from making a considerable amount of money from it. Reuters, on Monday, reported that trading fees alone for the $TRUMP token have added up to somewhere between $86 million and $100 million. One of the parties benefiting from those trade fees, CIC Digital, is an affiliate of the Trump Organization, but it was unclear how much of that total, if any, had gone to Trump personally. The ownership of other entities involved in trade fees could similarly not be determined. Trump was elected on a vow to be the crypto president and has filled his administration with several people who either hold crypto or have ties to the industry. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, for instance, who has previously expressed a belief that digital assets are a form of financial freedom, was named Monday as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which has previously set rules to protect consumers against fraud in crypto transactions.
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E-Commerce
Robinhood said on Tuesday it is rolling back the event contracts that would let users bet on the result of the Super Bowl clash this weekend, after the online brokerage received a request from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The halt comes just a day after the launch of the product. Robinhood said it was “disappointed by the outcome.” “We are heeding their directive to cease offering these contracts despite the fact that the CFTC has not deemed Kalshi’s football championship contracts illegal,” said Lucas Moskowitz, Robinhood’s general counsel. Representatives for Kalshi and the CFTC did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. The products would have allowed the company to tap into the betting mania around one of the most iconic sporting events in the country, as Robinhood looks to expand into segments that are gaining traction with retail investors. The company had rolled out the contracts to 1% of its customers. Those who already placed the trades will get the option to close their positions or take them to resolution, Robinhood said. Event derivatives trading involves buying and selling contracts that let traders speculate on the outcomes of specific events, including elections, economic data releases and policy decisions. “Prediction markets and event contracts can be subject to complex regulatory landscapes,” said Michael Ashley Schulman, partner and chief investment officer at Running Point Capital Advisors. “The CFTC may be concerned that this could be perceived as an active retail betting platform disguised under an investment umbrella, especially since sporting events are much more frequent than presidential elections.” These products have enjoyed a warm reception, despite being relatively new and widely seen as high-risk, especially after a U.S. court struck down the CFTC’s efforts to block KalshiEX’s election betting contracts. Robinhood’s derivatives arm is planning to launch a “more comprehensive” event contracts platform later this year. Niket Nishant and Manya Saini, Reuters
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E-Commerce
Families of transgender children on Tuesday asked a federal court to block President Donald Trump‘s order to end all federal funding or support for healthcare that aids gender transitions for people younger than 19. In a lawsuit filed against the Trump administration in Maryland federal court, the families, who are represented by Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union, allege that the order discriminates against transgender people and goes beyond Trump’s authority as president. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. As a result of the order, the lawsuit said, hospitals across the country have already begun canceling appointments for gender transition treatments. The plaintiffs say their appointments were canceled in recent days by Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., NYU Langone in New York, Boston Children’s Hospital and Childrens Hospital of Richmond in Virginia. The hospitals are not defendants in the case. Trump, a Republican, said in the Jan. 28 order that it is “the policy of the United States that it will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called ‘transition’ of a child from one sex to another, and it will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures.” Details about how far the order will reach and how it will be enforced were not immediately clear. It directed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to “take all appropriate actions to end the chemical and surgical mutilation of children.” That could include imposing conditions on healthcare providers receiving any federal funds, which virtually all hospitals do. The lawsuit called the order “part of a broad and sweeping attack President Trump has launched against ‘gender ideology’ and transgender people.” It followed a previous executive order by Trump banning transgender people from the military, and another stating that the government will not recognize gender identity apart from “an individual’s immutable biological classification as either male or female.” The order on the military has already been challenged by transgender rights groups. The other has been challenged in two separate lawsuits by transgender women incarcerated in federal prisons who face transfer to men’s prisons, one of whom has won a temporary restraining order blocking her transfer. Treatments covered by the order include puberty blockers, hormones and surgery provided to patients under 19 for the purpose of gender transition. Such treatments are often known as gender-affirming care. Republicans in more than half of the 50 states have passed laws or policies that ban gender-affirming care for minors, some of which have been blocked or overturned by the courts. A challenge to Tennessee’s ban has been heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, which has yet to issue a ruling that could determine the legality of such bans nationwide. The administration of former President Joe Biden, a Democrat, supported access to puberty blockers and hormones, though not surgery, for transgender minors. It passed a rule banning discrimination against transgender people in healthcare, which was blocked by a judge last year. The American Academy of Pediatrics has said that gender-affirming care is proven to prevent suicide and improve mental health. Health organizations in some other countries have been more guarded, with the European Academy of Paediatrics calling for more research and a government-sponsored review in England concluding that the existing evidence around youth gender care is weak. Brendan Pierson, Reuters
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E-Commerce
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