United States President Donald Trump has signaled support for the idea that his official memecoin reflects public sentiment about his leadership.
In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump shared a Newsmax article discussing how his official cryptocurrency token serves as a gauge of political momentum, echoing views shared by some crypto industry figures.
While the president may recognize his memecoin as a success barometer, the token’s market performance paints a more sobering picture if it’s to be used as a sentiment gauge.
At the time of writing, his Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin traded at around $10, down 85% since its all-time high of $73 in January. A scheduled $520 million token unlock in July could apply further downward pressure.
Trump token set for $520 million unlock
According to onchain data compiled by Tokenomist (formerly Token Unlocks), only 26.48% of the TRUMP token’s total supply has been unlocked, with 73.52% — about 735 million tokens — yet to enter circulation.
On July 18, TRUMP tokens amounting to 25% of the current circulating supply will hit the market. Tokenomist data shows that 50 million tokens valued at over $520 million will be unlocked.
A large number of tokens hitting the market has the potential to put further downward pressure on the token’s price, especially if the demand doesn’t scale in parallel.
In the lead-up to the unlock, on June 7, Trump’s son Eric Trump attempted to bolster market confidence using the Trump-backed crypto company World Liberty Financial, announcing that WLF plans to acquire a “substantial amount” of the memecoin tokens.
The token’s price didn’t react significantly, leading commentators to say it was “not a good sign.”
Ultimately, whether investors absorb the upcoming unlock or react with a market sell-off could indicate broader political enthusiasm toward Trump’s leadership.
Related: Trump memecoin wallet in ‘absolute chaos’ as family org unaware of launch
Memecoins as a public sentiment measurement tool
Using memecoins as a tool to measure public sentiment isn’t new. Animoca Brands co-founder Yat Siu previously told Cointelegraph that the TRUMP token’s rapid rise was due to hype and novelty.
However, the executive said that in the long term, it could reflect broader attitudes toward Trump’s presidency.
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