Countries Are Minting Coins – But Should They?
A new trend has been rising: nations launching their own cryptocurrencies. But we’re not talking about Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) – we’re talking about memecoins.
On this page
On February 10, Central African Republic’s President Faustin-Archange Touadéra announced on X that the country is launching an experimental memecoin on the Solana-based Pump.fun platform.
Named CAR, the memecoin was created to unite people and support national development. Faustin-Archange Touadéra mentioned that he has always recognized the potential of crypto and its benefits on a global scale.
He’s the second president in the world, after El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele, who made bitcoin legal tender in April 2022.
Soon after launch, CAR lost almost all of its value, dramatically crashing by around 96% from its all-time high of $0.70. According to CoinMarketCap, the coin now trades at around $0.02 with a market cap of around $30 million – down 70% in a day.
Before his inauguration day, US President Donald Trump launched his TRUMP memecoin on Pump.fun.
Any guesses on the token’s performance since launch?
It’s down 79% from its all-time high of $75.35. TRUMP trades at $15.77 at the moment, and it’s the 37th largest crypto with a market cap of over $3 billion.
National Crypto Adoption: Are Memecoins the Right Choice?
Memecoins have become mainstream. They are easy to launch, and experimenting with them seems attractive to many – as recent developments showed, presidents included.
Pump.fun has recently drawn people’s attention as a hub for nation-backed tokens too.
“Entire Nations are launching coins. Only on Pump.fun”, the project wrote on X.
But being linked to a president or a government isn’t a guarantee that a memecoin won’t crash. Actually, $CAR and $TRUMP memecoins proved that.
These memecoins raised legitimacy questions among users. People wonder if they are safe and if they won’t get rugged on a government level.
X user @DeFiMidas criticized $CAR, calling it “the largest scam among memecoins.” He claims that President Faustin-Archange Touadéra and his team profited $50 million through insider trading.
Similar accusations were made toward the TRUMP coin too. Dr. Danish called the coin a scam, saying it’s embarrassing for all US citizens.
​​But alongside critics, there are fans arguing that these coins are useful and that investors may benefit from them. Among them is Tron co-founder Justin Sun, who said TRUMP coin will perform well.
Are Political Memecoins the Future or Just a Gimmick?
Presidents launching memecoins? That’s not the most obvious move, but here we are. Is this the start of a new way for governments to get involved in crypto or just a weird experiment that’ll be forgotten in a few months? Hard to tell.
What we do know is that hype isn’t enough to keep these coins afloat. $CAR and $TRUMP both crashed hard, proving that just because a president backs a token doesn’t mean it’ll hold value.
If more governments jump on this trend, will it actually lead to something useful, or will we just end up with more coins that pump, dump, and disappear? No one really knows, but one thing’s for sure – political memecoins are a gamble, no matter who’s behind them.
The content on The Coinomist is for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as financial advice. While we strive to provide accurate and up-to-date information, we do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any content. Neither we accept liability for any errors or omissions in the information provided or for any financial losses incurred as a result of relying on this information. Actions based on this content are at your own risk. Always do your own research and consult a professional. See our Terms, Privacy Policy, and Disclaimers for more details.
Articles by this author
