The ongoing TRUMP memecoin craze has sparked the creation of hundreds of tokens inspired by the US president and his family. A recent report revealed that since Friday, there has been a piercing boost in the number of malicious tokens and dApps using Donald Trump’s credentials, targeting unsuspecting investors and non-crypto people.
Trump-themed scams are skyrocketing
Over the weekend, US President Donald Trump surprised the cryptocurrency industry by launching his official memecoin, TRUMP. The token has faced massive criticism, with several cryptocurrency investors calling the president’s memecoin venture a “big red flag.”
Many community members initially suspected the token was a hacker scam, while others expressed reservations about TRUMP’s tokenomics. Regardless of the doubts, memecoin eclipsed the market, skyrocketing to $30 within hours, and a day later hitting an all-time high (ATH) of $75.
Web3 Blockaid security platform common that the successful launch of TRUMP also ushered in “the rapid spread of malicious tokens, fake dApps, and scams using the Trump name and brand,” in line with a trend of scammers taking advantage of major news events in the crypto industry to target unsuspecting users.
According to the report, on the day of launch, the number of tokens with the name “Trump” increased by 206%. The report stated: “Many of these tokens used misleading branding to lure investors.”
The chart shows that since the end of December, the number of fresh malicious tokens with the word “Trump” has fluctuated between 2,000 and 3,000 per day. However, that number rose to 6,800 tokens deployed on Friday, double the usual 3,300 Trump-inspired tokens created daily.
Additionally, the number of bogus dApps deployed hit a record high over the weekend. Malicious apps are often used to “trick users into connecting their wallets, allowing fraudsters to siphon off funds.”
Blockaid reports that the number of dApps impersonating President Trump saw a 14-fold boost after launch, with 91 malicious dApps deployed within 24 hours.
Trump’s Memecoin craze continues
The report emphasized that the fraudsters did not stop at Trump-themed tokens. Memecoins with metadata relating to the Trump family, including those inspired by Melania and Barron, surged 592% over the weekend, “creating the illusion of an interconnected ecosystem.”
It is worth noting that on Sunday afternoon, US First Lady Melania Trump announced the launch of her official memecoin, MELANIA. The launch caused the cryptocurrency market to correct up to 6%, with Bitcoin (BTC) falling below $100,000 and TRUMP falling 49% in an hour.
On Inauguration Day, a slew of Trump family-inspired memecoins appeared on the DexScreener homepage. Of the 15 most popular tokens, 11 were associated with the presidential family, including the official TRUMP and MELANIA memecoins.
Phony memecoins Donald Trump Jr, Ivanka and Eric were also introduced, as well as Trump-related figures such as US Vice President JC Vance and Elon Musk. Although several Musk-themed tokens already exist, the recently launched memecoins used branding inspired by Trump’s official tokens.
Moreover, Trump’s memecoin craze continued after the US president’s inauguration. Movie common on the X shows that during Trump’s inaugural speech, community members created several fresh tokens themed around the speech.
Users flooded the market with dozens of memecoins, using phrases such as “Make America respected again” or “America will be admired again” mere seconds after the US president announced them, potentially trying to cash in on the ongoing hype.
At the time of writing, the official price of memecoin TRUMP is $37.6, up 1.4% on the daily time frame.
Featured image from Unsplash.com, chart from TradingView.com
