The ongoing TRUMP memecoin frenzy has sparked the creation of hundreds of tokens inspired by the US president and his family. A recent report revealed malicious tokens and dApps using Donald Trump references skyrocketed since Friday, targeting unsuspected investors and non-crypto people.
Trump-Themed Scams Skyrocket
Over the weekend, US President Donald Trump surprised the crypto industry by launching his official memecoin, TRUMP. The token received heavy criticism, with several crypto investors calling the President’s memecoin venture a “big red flag.”
Many community members initially suspected the token was a hacking scam, while others expressed reservations about TRUMP’s tokenomics. Regardless of the doubts, the memecoin eclipsed the market, skyrocketing to $30 in a few hours and hitting an all-time high (ATH) of $75 a day later.
Web3 security platform Blockaid that TRUMP’s successful launch also ignited a “rapid proliferation of malicious tokens, fake dApps, and scams using the Trump name and branding,” following the trend of scammers leveraging major news events in the crypto industry to target unsuspecting users.
According to the report, tokens with the “Trump” name increased by 206% on the launch day. The report stated, “Many of these tokens used misleading branding to lure investors.”
The chart shows that since late December, the number of new malicious tokens with the word “Trump” has hovered between 2,000 and 3,000 daily. However, this number increased to 6,800 tokens deployed on Friday, double the usual 3,300 Trump-inspired tokens created daily.
Additionally, the number of fake dApps deployed saw record rates over the weekend. The malicious applications are often used to “trick users into connecting their wallets, allowing scammers to drain funds.”
Blockaid reports that impersonator dApps using President Trump’s name saw a 14x increase after the launch, with 91 malicious dApps deployed in 24 hours.
Trump Memecoin Frenzy Continues
The report highlighted that scammers didn’t stop at Trump-themed tokens. Memecoins with metadata referencing the Trump family, including Melania and Barron-inspired ones, surged by 592% over the weekend, “creating the illusion of an interconnected ecosystem.”
It’s worth noting that US First Lady Melania Trump announced the launch of her official memecoin, MELANIA, on Sunday afternoon. The launch pushed the crypto market to a 6% correction, with Bitcoin (BTC) dropping below $100,000, and TRUMP declining 49% in an hour.
On Inauguration Day, DexScreener’s main page showed a plethora of memecoins inspired by the Trump Family. Of the top 15 tokens, 11 were related to the presidential family, including the official TRUMP and MELANIA memecoins.
Fake Donald Trump Jr, Ivanka, and Eric memecoins were also launched, alongside Trump-related figures like US Vice President JC Vance and Elon Musk. Despite the several Musk-themed tokens already existing, the recently launched memecoins used branding inspired by the official Trump tokens.
Moreover, the Trump memecoin frenzy continued as the US President was sworn into office. A video on X shows that during Trump’s inauguration speech, community members created several new tokens themed after the speech.
Users flooded the market with dozens of memecoins using phrases like “Make America respected again” or “America will be admired again” just seconds after the US President pronounced them, potentially attempting to lucre from the ongoing hype.
As of this writing, the official TRUMP memecoin trades at $37.6, a 1.4% increase in the daily timeframe.
