Nigerian enthusiasts predict how Trump’s administration will affect crypto
Despite the widespread acceptance of digital assets like cryptocurrency in the past decade, a new level of enthusiasm, fueled by the election of Donald Trump, a crypto enthusiast, has driven new levels of acceptance.
On Friday, as preparations for his inauguration were in full gear, Trump announced the launch of a meme coin, $Trump. In just two days, the coin surged to become one of the most valuable digital currencies in the world, returning millions of dollars for investors who bought the coin early.
Opinions are, understandably, divided about this Trump venture.
A crypto enthusiast, who described himself as one of Trump’s most vocal supporters, viewed the launch as a paradigm shift but also noted that what to expect in the crypto industry with Trump at the helm of affairs might elude even the most experienced crypto traders.
“Whether it’s good or bad, I really have no idea, but it needed to happen,” the supporter wrote on X. He added that “everyone will have their priorities challenged, even the cryptonative—people who thought they had cryptocurrency figured out.”
A young Nigerian crypto enthusiast, who preferred to be called by his first name, Chinaza, when asked by Neusroom what he thought about Trump’s meme coins, said:
“I am tired of Trump and his wife. They are causing problems for other coins.”
Apparently, 48 hours after the Trump meme coin was launched, his wife, Melania Trump, launched her own meme coin, $Melania.
“Trump and his coins are milking the market,” was how Victor, another crypto investor in Nigeria, put it.
Another crypto trader, who preferred not to be mentioned, told Neusroom that he saw $Melania about nine hours after it was launched.
“I thought it was early enough, and I rushed to buy, hoping that it would pump like $Trump. It dumped on me, and I’ve lost over 62 percent of my investment,” he said.
$Melania, at the highest of its pump, reached $14.17 on Monday but has since dumped to $4.06 at the time of writing this report. Similarly, $Trump, also reached an all-time high of $78.104 but now trades at $42.02.
Other coins have equally dipped, and the crypto industry is witnessing a massive sell-off.
Economists have voiced their concern. Lee Reiners, a former Federal Reserve economist, described the euphoria surrounding the new interest in crypto, sparked since Trump won the presidency, as a bubble that would burst.
“If people want to gamble, I don’t care,” she said. “What I care about is when this crypto bubble bursts — and it will burst — it will end up impacting people across the economy even if they don’t have direct investment in crypto. And this new coin is making it worse.”
The fact that is derivable from all this is that Trump is bullish on crypto. Whether it is for personal gain or the potential of digital assets reshaping how we transact remains a matter of unsettled debate.
Nonetheless, the interest in crypto has no doubt provided a new investment opportunity, particularly in countries like Nigeria, where poverty is high and opportunities are low. Young Nigerians have embraced investment in digital assets, from those backed by projects like Bitcoin and Ethereum to meme coins like $Trump, making the nation the highest in crypto acceptance across African countries.
However, it could be best to be investment-savvy, as Trump’s enthusiasm toward crypto has further cemented his status as one of the wealthiest people on earth. Before Friday, Trump’s net worth was valued at $6.7 billion, according to Forbes. However, after the launch of his meme coin, a New York Times article claims the President controls another 800 million tokens, which could be worth as much as $51 billion.
But the lingering question is: Will crypto sustain its recent momentum and remain a vital part of the world economy, or will the bubble burst? If it bursts, as Reiners predicts, Nigerians — in a country with the second-highest adoption of cryptocurrency — might see their hard-earned and limited money vanish.
