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$TRUMPet

I devoted part of my week to researching the new memecoin issued by Donald Trump this past weekend. All the usual signs are there that this will make a few people rich and many more poor, but that’s standard fare in memecoin-world. What stood out most to me as I poked around was how Trump is depicted on the coin’s web site. Here, look:

The narcissism of despots popped into my head when I saw the jacked Trump, his hair perfect, wearing a tight belt that in real life has been buried under a mound of Big Mac cellulite for over a decade.

I’m not sure why I thought of the narcissism of despots, I did take a lot of psych in college, but I don’t remember this. I was actually hoping I had coined the phrase. Nope. This is the definition, courtesy of Google’s net-mind: “the psychological trait where a leader with absolute power, often called a despot, exhibits an inflated sense of self-importance, a lack of empathy for others, and a preoccupation with their own success and status, essentially believing they are superior to those they rule, often leading to manipulative and controlling behaviors.”

Jeez, a bit on the nose there. The demagoguery of the meme imagery needs attention, as it’s a necessary step toward fascism. But it’s also so sad. The level of narcissism to depict yourself in such a laughably lionized and perfected way is beyond parody. It’s like someone who would take offense at a bishop asking him to be merciful.

On the crypto side here with $TRUMP, the details are similar to World Liberty Financial, which I’ve written about. Trump and his partners own 80 percent of the $TRUMP coins, and have a 3-year vesting schedule that allows them to sell at certain times (as soon as three months from now). Issuing a memecoin is smart, as its complete lack of utility and explicit description of itself as “intended to function as an expression of support for, and engagement with, the ideals and beliefs embodied by the symbol ‘$TRUMP.’” Even if the SEC wasn’t stacked with Trump supporters I don’t think the agency would go after $TRUMP as being an unregistered security.

Another very troubling similarity to World Liberty Financial is how  $TRUMP is a great way to funnel money almost directly to the President of the United States. We saw this already with World Liberty Financial when Justin Sun of TRON fame invested $30 million into WLF, whereby a sales threshold was reached and Trump stood to make $15 million. Sun is under SEC investigation. This is what regulators and the Justice Department need to be investigating. $TRUMP is no less a channel to bribe or flatter or influence Trump and it’s happening all out in the open. This needs to be stopped.  

The last thing is the branding on the coin. $TRUMP. I see strump and then my mind goes to strumpet, which the Oxford English Dictionary defines as “a debauched or unchaste woman, a harlot, prostitute.” Well, that tracks, because someone here is definitely getting fucked. – Matthew Leising, editor in chief, Decential Media

Have you read the definitive history of Ethereum? No? Well then get your copy of Out of the Ether while you can.