[Coin Report] The First US Presidential Election Where ‘Virtual Assets’ Emerged as a Key Issue… Trump-Harris Meme Coins Are on the Rise

With the US presidential election just two months away, the virtual asset policies of the two major candidates are emerging as key issues. The meme coin named after Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump has surged nearly 20% since the first presidential debate, showing the high interest of virtual asset investors in this presidential election.

According to CoinMarketCap at 3:50 PM on the 13th, MAGA (TRUMP) is trading at $2.18, down 26.25% from a week ago. TRUMP is the virtual asset with the highest market capitalization among meme coins themed after former President Trump, and rose to $17 on June 17 as it gained popularity among Trump supporters. However, when Harris won a decisive victory in the first presidential debate held on the 11th, the price of TRUMP plummeted as Trump's chances of winning decreased. Other Trump meme coins such as MAGA (MAGA), SuperTrumpCoin (STRUMP), and MAGAAgain (MAGAA) also plummeted by up to 40% in a week. On the other hand, Kamala Harris (HARRIS), a meme coin themed after Vice President Harris, showed a 1.27% increase compared to last week.

The influence of virtual assets is growing in the US presidential election to be held in November. According to a report released on the 10th by Gemini, a US virtual asset exchange, 73% of 6,000 US virtual asset investors responded that the positions of the two major party candidates on virtual assets will influence their vote. Of these, 37% responded that virtual assets will have a “significant influence.” Gemini analyzed the results, saying, “This is the first time in US history that virtual assets have emerged as a key issue in a presidential election.” Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss emphasized the influence of virtual asset investors on the presidential election, saying, “There are more than 50 million virtual asset holders in the US, and if they tell Vice President Harris that they will not vote unless she removes SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, virtual assets will instantly become a bipartisan issue.”

Here, specific election strategies are being mobilized to gain support from virtual asset investors. Former President Trump calls himself the “virtual asset president” and is making pro-virtual asset pledges. He also announced that he will launch a DeFi project led by the former President Trump’s family on the 16th. Trump said through his X account, “Please join us for the launch of ‘World Liberty Financial’ through Space at 8 p.m. on September 16th,” and “We will embrace virtual assets as the future and push out the old-fashioned large banks.” Former President Trump’s sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump have previously hinted at building a decentralized finance (DeFi) project.

Trump supporters are welcoming the launch of Trump's own virtual asset project. On Polygon (MATIC)-based decentralized prediction platform 'Polymarket', a poll was held asking whether Trump would launch a virtual asset project before the election, and 85% expected the launch of a virtual asset. So far, $1,693,739 (about 2.2 billion won) has been bet on the poll. In fact, Robert Kennedy Jr. actively utilized the meme coin 'BOBBY' to raise campaign funds before dropping out of the presidential race. The BOBBY project donated $100,000 (about 100 million won) to Robert Kennedy Jr.'s camp.

However, some predict that the US presidential election results will not have a significant impact on virtual asset prices. Standard Chartered predicted that “the presidential election results have become less important than when President Joe Biden was the Democratic candidate,” and that “the trend of easing virtual asset regulations will continue in 2025 regardless of which candidate enters the White House.” Standard Chartered added that Bitcoin (BTC) could reach $125,000 (about 167 million won) if Trump is elected, and $75,000 (about 100 million won) if Harris is elected.

Reporter Kim Jeong-woo

woo@decenter.kr