President-elect Trump took the $3.5 trillion cryptocurrency industry by surprise on Friday night by announcing the launch of its own crypto token called the $Trump coin.

The launch is on track to become one of the most successful in history. In less than 24 hours, the $Trump coin went from a few cents to about $30, a staggering 12,000% gain.

It now has a market cap of close to $6 billion and has seen billions in trading volume. It is now also in the top 30 biggest cryptocurrencies in the world by market capitalization.

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The announcement comes just days before Trump’s inauguration on Monday. Trump personally announced the introduction of the coin through his Social Truth and X accounts at 9:45 pm ET on Friday, as industry bigwigs celebrated their return to office at the inaugural Crypto Ball of Washington, D.C

Trump promises to be the most crypto-friendly president in history and has promised to reverse that The Biden administration the so-called crackdown on regulation through law enforcement against major players in the industry.

Attendees at the ball included CEOs of several crypto platforms, politicians, a handful of new Trump cabinet members and his son, Donald Trump Jr.

President-elect Trump rings the opening bell on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange on December 12, 2024 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images/Getty Images)

When the news broke, some attendees were skeptical, speculating that the president-elect’s accounts had been hacked. Donald Trump, Jr., who presumably knew about the ad, was cordoned off in an exclusive VIP section. It’s unclear if he spoke to anyone about Trump’s coin.

“My NEW Official Trump Meme is HERE! It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for: WIN! Join my very special Trump Community,” the message said, adding a link to a website where visitors can buy the token with a debit card or with crypto.

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Trump has not commented on the currency since the original announcement. His son, Eric Trump, posted on X Saturday afternoon that the coin is the “world’s most popular digital meme”. The president-elect’s X account reposted his son’s comments.

Two spokespeople for Trump’s transition team did not respond to requests for comment.

The coin, which is known as the trading ticker TRUMP, is known as a “meme coin,” a highly speculative type of cryptocurrency that has no inherent utility and is often created from a joke or parody, like PEPE, a meme of an image. of a cartoon frog that has a market cap of over $7 billion.

Sophisticated investors tend to be wary of meme coins, not only because of their wild price swings, but because of their propensity to be associated with scammers looking to make a quick buck off exuberant investors. Last month, social media influencer Haliey Welch, better known as the “Hawk Tuah Girl,” was sued by investors when the price of her meme coin, Hawk coin, crashed within hours of its introduction , causing losses of millions.

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According to the coin’s website, Trump Organization affiliates CIC Digital LLC and Fight Fight Fight LLC collectively own 80% of the coins in circulation, meaning as the token’s price rises , owners will see significant gains. The website does not mention who will be the recipient of the benefits.

However, Trump making money from retail investors could raise red flags for regulators and senators like Elizabeth Warren, a fierce critic of the crypto industry.

Trump speaks at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville on July 27, 2024. (Brett Carlsen/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)

Last summer, another meme coin, DJT, rumored to be associated with the president-elect, was introduced to the Solana blockchain. The coin was created by convicted fraudster “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli and not by Trump or his son, Barron, as Shkreli had claimed.

Trump’s announcement has received mixed reviews so far. Some of his loyal fans in the crypto community are praising the move, saying it promotes the Solana blockchain and will likely bring new users into the crypto space who want a piece of the first crypto-friendly presidential token.

Others are publicly criticizing it, with some even calling it a free cash grab by Trump, who has already received millions from the crypto industry during the campaign after courting him with promises of deregulation.

But major exchanges like Kraken are already making the token available for trading on their platform. It’s unclear whether Coinbase, the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, will follow suit.

Meanwhile, investors in Trump currency have already reaped massive returns from the rapid rise in price. One trader made $1.1 million from an initial investment of $150,000, and another turned $800 into $310,000, according to financial newsletter The Kobeissi Letter.

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“Whether you agree with the movement or not, the fact is that the leader of the free world basically put his stamp of approval on Solana and the meme culture,” said Frank Chaparro, director of special projects for the crypto publication The Bloc.

Perhaps coincidentally, Trump chose to introduce the meme currency on SEC Chairman Gary Gensler’s last day in office.

Gensler, who cracked down on digital assets, will be replaced by attorney Paul Atkins, Trump’s most crypto-friendly lawyer.