Insider trading allegations hit TRUMP memecoin

Blockchain analysts have noticed suspicious trading activity surrounding United States’ Republican President-elect Donald Trump’s Solana-based (SOL) Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin.

Onchain analytics firm Bubblemaps investigated a crypto wallet funded with $1 million four hours before the TRUMP memecoin launched, as announced in a Jan. 18 X post. The address appears with high likelihood to have known of the launch in advance.

On-chain data analyzed by Bubblemaps shows that the wallet in question acquired $5.9 million worth of the TRUMP memecoin in the very minute that it launched. The wallet was also funded just four hours before the launch took place.

The wallet later sold $20 million of the token while holding on to $96 million worth of TRUMP. The assets were then moved through a wallet and distributed among ten other addresses who are now selling TRUMP on Solana decentralized exchanges (DEXs).

This pattern triggered speculation about possible market manipulation by insiders. This is especially true considering that TRUMP keeps making headlines as its market cap increases.

CoinMarketCap data shows that the token reached a high market cap of $15 billion yesterday at a price of nearly $75, and is currently trading under $49 with a market cap of about $9.75 billion after losing 23% of its value over the last 24 hours. Preetam Rao, CEO of QuillAudits told Cointelegraph:

“Eighty percent of the supply is locked for CIC Digital, a company owned by the Donald Trump Revocable Trust. This is the same entity that launched Trump NFT Trading Cards three years ago. The website says it’s ‘not an investment but a show of support.’”

The top 10 holders, he said, own over 89$ of TRUMP’s supply and there is no clarity about what will happen with this supply. The token was also launched in the Asian morning time, with Rao suggesting noting that “it feels like this is just a way for Trump to make money.” He concluded:

“We can see some insider traders involved, but I feel if the US government is supporting projects to set a roadmap for innovation in the country. Maybe it’s a rug pull, but it lays the foundation for innovation.”

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