Memecoins
TROG Memecoin Dominates with Over 50% Stake in $32 Million Illiquid Portfolio
Donald Trump’s cryptocurrency portfolio, as detailed by Arkham Intelligence, has seen a significant increase in value over the past three months, reaching a peak of around $32 million due to the surge in memecoins.
Its holdings are diversified across different tokens, with notable holdings in TROG, TRUMP, ETH, and WETH.
Trump’s major holdings and their impact on the market
Trump’s largest holding is in the TROG token, with 210.345 billion tokens worth around $21 million. This represents more than half of TROG’s total market capitalization of $36 million, indicating a substantial concentration of its portfolio in this single asset.
The price of TROG is around $0.0001. It increased by more than 160% in the last 24 hours after its supporters became aware of its stake in the token. The TRUMP token, another significant holding, is valued at $7.61 million, with 579.29 thousand tokens priced at $13.13 each.
TROG capitalizes on the continued popularity of frog-themed memecoins like PEPE, laced with themes from Trump’s brand of politics. The creators of TROG describe it as a blend of meme culture and financial strategy, aimed at capturing both the humor and investment potential of the cryptocurrency market.
The official TROG website jokingly notes: “Welcome to the wacky and wild world of Trog (Trump Frog) – the meme coin that is here to make cryptocurrencies great again! Born from the legendary internet culture and inspired by the one and only Donald Trump, Trog combines the hilarity of memes with the revolutionary spirit of cryptocurrency.
Cultural and financial context of TROG
TROG’s inception is rooted in Internet meme culture, specifically a Photoshop meme featuring Donald Trump with a green frog painted on his mouth and chin. This meme gained popularity when artist Mike Mitchell tweeted several altered photographs of Trump in May 2017.
Within a week, the original tweet garnered over 31,600 likes and 14,300 retweets. The meme spread quickly, with additional Photoshopped images shared widely across social media platforms and covered by outlets such as Bored Panda, Mashable, and The Daily Dot.
The strategic launch of TROG into Trump’s portfolio, which comprises half of the total offering, appears to be a calculated move by the developers to capitalize on his public profile and influence. However, despite the significant nominal value of these holdings, the practical implications of liquidating such a large amount of TROG at market value are questionable. As Arkham pointed out, “with so much supply, it is unlikely that Trump would be able to sell it at market value if he even knew it existed.”
Most of Trump’s earnings appear to come from donations and token distribution projects to his people wallet, along with royalties from his TRUMP NFT collection. Despite the impressive total value of his portfolio, which has jumped to around $30 million, a significant portion of this wealth is illiquid. This is due to the lack of market depth and volume in some of the memecoins it holds, such as TROG, which saw trading volume of just $20 million in the last 24 hours.
This illiquidity could pose a challenge to realizing the full value of its holdings, meaning it’s just paper profits. His holdings in Ethereum (ETH) are 471.79 ETH, worth $1.80 million, while his holdings in Wrapped Ethereum (WETH) are 374.974 WETH, worth $1.43 million . Other notable assets include MVP, CONAN, BABYTRUMP, and ELON tokens.
Trump’s evolving views on cryptocurrency
Despite his historically fluctuating stance on cryptocurrencies versus the US dollar, Donald Trump has shown a significant shift towards a more supportive stance. In a May post on Truth Social, shortly before his appearance at the Libertarian National Convention, he expressed his optimism about the cryptocurrency sector.
Trump expressed strong confidence in the potential of cryptocurrency companies and related industries, underlining the need for the United States to be a leader in this innovative field. “I am very positive and open-minded about cryptocurrency companies and everything about this new and thriving industry. Our country must be the leader in this field,” he wrote in capital letters, adding: “There is no second place.”
This marked a notable departure from his previous views, as expressed in a 2021 interview with Fox Business, in which he had advocated for strict regulation of cryptocurrencies, stating: “The currency of this world should be the dollar.
And I don’t think we should have all the Bitcoin in the world out there. I think they should regulate them very, very highly.” This evolution in Trump’s perspective reflects a broader acceptance and recognition of the transformative potential that cryptocurrencies have for the future of global finance.