The price of Donald Trump’s official memecoin jumped 8% after 40 million tokens were unlocked on April 19.

This release, representing 4% of the total supply, increased the circulating tokens from 200 million to 240 million.

Despite the typical trend of token unlocks causing price drops, the memecoin rose from US$7.54 to about US$8.30. The newly released tokens are linked to the project’s creators and CIC Digital LLC.

Built on the Solana blockchain, the Trump memecoin brands itself as a way to support Trump-related ideals and artwork, not as an investment.

🔗 Source: The Block

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Trump’s memecoin defies typical token unlock behavior

Token unlocks typically cause price decreases due to selling pressure when previously locked tokens become available for trading.

Historically, projects see significant price drops after unlocks. For example, major tokens like Axie Infinity, Arbitrum, and StarkNet all faced selling pressure during unlock events totaling $500 million in October 20241.

The TRUMP token’s 8% price increase contradicts this established pattern, which is particularly notable given that the 40 million unlocked tokens represent a substantial 20% increase in circulating supply2.

This unusual price movement suggests potential market manipulation or significant buyer support despite poor tokenomics that analysts from K33 Research criticized in January.

Traditional projects implement lock-up periods specifically to prevent early investors from selling and crashing prices. This is a standard practice that creates market stability during a project’s early development3.

2️⃣ Memecoins capture significant market share despite limited utility

Memecoins have evolved from niche experiments to commanding 27.1% of investor interest in Q1 2025, with politically-themed tokens contributing significantly to this growth4.

The memecoin market has experienced extraordinary expansion, growing from $20 billion to over $120 billion in market capitalization during 2024 alone—a 500% increase that reflects their mainstream appeal despite questionable utility5.

This pattern extends beyond Trump’s token, with CoinGecko’s Q1 report showing that memecoins and AI tokens together captured 62.8% of investor interest, potentially diverting capital from utility-focused blockchain projects6.