Updated on January 23, 2025
Presidential memecoin… wait, what?!

Trump’s memecoins shake up the crypto world
Over the weekend, Donald Trump caused a massive stir by launching his own memecoin, TRUMP. As if that wasn’t enough, MELANIA, named after the new First Lady, followed shortly after. These “presidential memecoins” have sparked a wave of speculation: crypto investors rushed to buy these new coins, with reactions ranging from excitement to skepticism.
Critics argue that Trump might be doing this primarily to line his own pockets. At the same time, his move is seen as a signal of support for the crypto industry, bringing renewed global attention. This was evident in the days following the launch, as crypto apps surged into the top 10 financial apps in app stores, fueled by new investors eager to purchase these memecoins.
At Novelist, we don’t invest in memecoins, as they are purely speculative and lack fundamental value. However, we believe this could be positive in the long term, as it brings more people into the crypto ecosystem.

Trump’s inauguration and crypto’s first impact
On Monday, Donald Trump was officially inaugurated as president, and crypto investors eagerly anticipated a groundbreaking announcement: a strategic bitcoin reserve for the U.S. government. Trump had promised this during his campaign, but to the disappointment of many, no such announcement was made on his first day in office. This raised concerns about whether he will follow through on his pledge.
However, there were some important positive developments. Shortly after the inauguration, the SEC, under new leadership, announced the formation of a Crypto Task Force. This team will develop a regulatory framework for the U.S. crypto sector, similar to Europe’s MiCAR legislation that took effect earlier this year. This is a significant step toward more clarity and adoption in the U.S. Moreover, the number of ETF applications doubled to 33 after the previous SEC chair left. Many firms appear to have been waiting for a more favorable regulatory environment, and confidence seems to be growing.
Trump has shown his support for crypto before, and while we may have to wait for the promised bitcoin reserve, these initial moves set a positive tone for the industry.
Solana’s stress test during trump memecoin mania
The launch of the Trump and Melania memecoins brought an unprecedented surge of activity to the Solana blockchain. This massive spike caused network congestion, with users experiencing delays and errors. Despite these challenges, Solana processed more transactions than ever before. The network’s throughput was equivalent to 10% of the daily trading volume of Nasdaq, the world’s largest exchange, which handles about $200 billion in trades daily.
At the same time, Solana’s decentralized exchanges hit record volumes. Raydium, the largest exchange on Solana, generated over $25 million in fees. Although there were some technical hiccups, Solana successfully withstood this intense stress test without fully crashing, proving its robustness once again. As a result, the value of SOL surged significantly, underscoring investor confidence in the ecosystem.
