Trump becomes crypto billionaire with launch of meme coin $TRUMP

According to Axios, around 200 million of the 1 billion tokens had been sold as of Sunday and are being actively traded. The rest of the tokens are owned by Trump-controlled entities and will be sold at various points spanning the next three years, starting in April.

The outlet reported that Trump’s companies will be able to sell around 24 million coins per month into the market on average. This would among to an income of $1.73 billion per month, or $20.7 billion per year at Sunday's prices.

As of January 19, $56.6 billion of Trump’s wealth was in the token, while $4.6 billion was in Trump Media & Technology Group Corp stocks and $2.6 billion was in all other assets.

This comes as Trump during his campaign vowed to end the Biden administration’s "anti-crypto crusade" and it was reported that Trump would sign pro-cryptocurrency executive orders on his first day in office. Trump has appointed tech entrepreneur David Sacks as the White House AI & Crypto Czar, who will "work on a legal framework so the Crypto industry has the clarity it has been asking for, and can thrive in the US."

On Sunday ahead of the inauguration, Snoop Dog and Soulja Boy performed at a "Crypto Ball" held in Washington DC in honor of Trump. The event was attended by leaders in the cryptocurrency industry as well as celebrities. Big names in the cryptocurrency industry such as Michael Saylor, Brian Armstrong, the Winklevoss brothers, and Jesse Powell were in attendance.

Ahead of Trump’s inauguration, top Republican officials at the US Securities and Exchange Commission have reportedly begun moving to overhaul the agency’s policies on cryptocurrency. Paul Atkins was nominated by Trump to be SEC chair and is crypto-friendly, with current chair Gary Gensler stepping down as Trump took office.