Cryptoverse: Trump drubs Biden in meme coins

Donald Trump has taken a commanding lead over Joe Biden – in the world of political meme coins, at least.

Crypto tokens linked to the former U.S. president have leapt in volume and value in recent weeks as the November election heaves into view and the arch-rivals prepare for their first public debate.

The universe of the so-called "PolitiFi" tokens is tiny, with a combined market value of about $1 billion. A majority of those are linked to Trump, who has presented himself as a champion for cryptocurrency, although he hasn't offered specifics on his proposed crypto policy.

Of the top 10 political meme coins by market value, seven are based on Trump, with many playing on Trump's Make America Great Again slogan, such as MAGA and MAGA Hat, according to crypto platform CoinGecko, while only one – Jeo Boden – is related to the current U.S. President Joe Biden, CoinGecko data shows.

Forrest Przybysz, a cryptocurrency trader and CEO of Sistine Research, said meme coins, by their nature, are not only highly speculative but also driven by attention cycles.

"The more attention a token can hold and maintain, usually the higher its price will go," he told Reuters. "Trump is an attention magnet. Therefore, he is the ideal subject for a meme token."

Political tokens are a fraction of the $46 billion market value of meme coins – hyper-speculative, volatile and risky cryptocurrencies often driven by internet jokes – which are themselves a niche segment of the broader $2.3 trillion cryptocurrencies, per Coingecko estimates.

"Meme coins are similar to nonfungible tokens in terms of being a bit of collectors' item," said Yan Liberman, co-founder of crypto research firm Delphi Digital. "The idea is that you monetize public attention."

Trump hasn't said he endorses or backs any crypto token in his name. However, his slamming of Democrats' attempts to regulate the sector has boosted his popularity among these tokens, Liberman said.