Trump’s Solana Meme Coin Launch Marks ‘New Crypto Regulatory Era’: Bernstein

It was a divisive move, but analysts at Bernstein think President Trump’s Solana meme token launch Friday should be seen as an opportunity by investors—even if some in the crypto industry considered it a “cringe” move.

Analysts at the investment firm said that the new era of the digital asset industry would be “chaotic,” but that shouldn’t stop people from investing in what it considers “more valuable” parts of the space.

Donald Trump was inaugurated Monday as the 47th President of the United States of America. Days before, his team released a Solana-based meme coin that is now one of the biggest cryptocurrencies by market cap. The President campaigned to help the industry and slash regulation. 

“Whichever way you see it, we think a new chaotic crypto era is here,” the Monday report read. 

“The President of America has his own coin,” Bernstein continued. “Our view would be to view the event as a signal that a new crypto regulatory era is here to stay and invest in the more valuable parts of the ecosystem.”

The analysts added that the meme coin launch could spur builders in the space to innovate. Bernstein also suggested that the Trump campaign would have benefited from the space because “crypto tech allows politicians to go direct to the audience to crowdfund their election campaign and garner support.”

Donald Trump’s new meme token, TRUMP, is now the 28th biggest cryptocurrency. It had a market cap at one point of over $14 billion but that figure has since dipped to about $8 billion, per data from CoinGecko. 

The crypto industry and its insiders and influencers have been torn on whether the project was a good idea; meme coins—digital assets based on internet culture and jokes—usually have no utility other than to make some lucky investors huge returns. 

Bitcoin, the biggest and oldest digital coin, rose before Trump’s inauguration and hit a new high of nearly $109,000 early Monday. It’s now trading for about $104,000. The President at a rally late Sunday alluded to the cryptocurrency’s rapid rise, hinting that it was thanks to him. 

Edited by Andrew Hayward