When Donald Trump dabbled in memecoins last month, it set off a floodgate of imitators in the cryptocurrency market. With the re-elected US president’s entry into the cryptocurrency market, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of opportunistic tokens.

According to a Financial Times report, more than 700 imitators launched their currencies in the span of three weeks. A tangled web of tokens, from the audacious to the ridiculous, has landed in Trump’s digital wallet, leaving investors bewildered.

The numbers paint a startling picture of opportunism in action. Among the 736 different memecoins analyzed, 192 brazenly incorporate the Trump family name, with 167 being direct copycats.

The audacity doesn’t stop there – 67 tokens have slapped the word “official” in their names, despite having no connection to the president. Some creators have even gone as far as minting coins named after Trump’s children, with 30 tokens featuring Barron’s name, 26 referencing Ivanka, and 10 mentioning Eric, FT disclosed.

In the hazy world of cryptocurrency trading, looks can be deceiving. The “Official Barron Trump” coin is an example of this; although its potential value, based on its most recent transaction price, is an astounding $6 billion, the reality is far less impressive.

Trump’s memecoin inspires wave of copycats https://t.co/Z5gdmLVkfs

— Financial Times (@FT) February 7, 2025

Since January 21, there hasn’t been any trading activity on the cryptocurrency, and its biggest transaction was only around $240. The large discrepancy between paper valuations and real liquidity serves as a warning about how speculative these investments are.

This cryptocurrency gold rush is happening at an unprecedented rate. The first imitation of Trump’s memecoin surfaced within 30 minutes of its initial debut.

This rapid pace hasn’t slowed down; even big companies like Coinbase are finding it difficult to keep up with the creation of new tokens. Brian Armstrong, the exchange’s CEO, revealed that approximately 1 million new tokens are being created weekly, making individual evaluation of each token “no longer feasible.”

Market watchdogs and financial experts have harshly criticized the scenario. Trump’s memecoin, according to Brookings Institution analyst Eswar Prasad, has “opened the floodgates to deception.”

The complex methods in which these tokens can be manipulated are more concerning than the sheer number of counterfeit coins. One instance that raised concerns about possible market manipulation tactics was when a trader bought $100,000 worth of a counterfeit “Official Trump” coin, only to sell the entire holding 12 seconds later at a loss.

It’s now very hard for regular buyers to tell the difference between risky fakes and real ones in today’s market. The difference between innovation and making the most of current resources is getting less clear as the rush for digital currency continues. This raises concerns about the long-term impact on cryptocurrency markets and the safety of investors.

Featured image from David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images, chart from TradingView

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