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.

  • Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works
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    7 hours 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
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        6 hours 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.

  • Lanusensei87@lemmy.world
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    12 hours 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
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      9 hours 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).

      • Honytawk@lemmy.zip
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        9 hours ago

        Crypto is only used now by people who want to get rich from it. It doesn’t have any intrinsic value.

        And all the supposed possible uses of blockchain are thrown away because of it.

    • NatakuNox@lemmy.world
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      8 hours ago

      It’s almost as if our leaders and their Mexican fans have never read a history book. There’s a reason none government controlled, nor government backed money systems always failed. Just because it’s all happening on a computer doesn’t mean it’s a new concept. Crypto is a scam! Unless you have hundreds of thousands of dollars to just throw away or get extremely lucky (odds worse than the lottery.)

      I personally think we’ve pushed monetary base economic systems to their logical conclusion. Why pay for Necessities when we have the know-how, resources, and ability to provide for everyone? (rhetorical obviously)

  • OmegaMan
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    13 hours ago

    Lmao. “Industry” haha. Industry. Hahahaha.

  • nolannice@lemmy.world
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    11 hours 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.

    • MegaUltraChicken@lemmy.world
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      11 hours ago

      It was a quid pro quo to gain libertarian votes. I am surprised his people are having him follow through on his side though.

  • ExtremeDullard@lemmy.sdf.org
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    13 hours ago

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

    No worry there, nobody is under any illusion that crypto is anything other than a scam. Trump simply confirms what everybody who hasn’t been living under a rock for the past 15 years already knows.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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      9 hours ago

      nobody is under any illusion that crypto is anything other than a scam.

      I wish that was true. Not too long ago right here on Lemmy there was some bitcoin zealot who could not understand why its constantly fluctuating value make it pretty useless as a currency for everyday use. Apparently there are also 100,000,000 satoshis to the bitcoin and those are literally the only two tiers. And that same person couldn’t understand why people would find that super fucking hard to work with.