The imminent unlocking of a Trump-themed memecoin could add new layers to the ongoing debate over US legislation during “Crypto Week,” as Republicans rally behind three digital asset bills this week.
According to multiple sources, 90 million Official Trump (TRUMP) tokens worth more than $900 million are set to be unlocked this week, allowing holders to sell the memecoin launched in January ahead of Trump’s second-term inauguration.
The unlock boosts the memecoin’s circulating supply by 45% and marks one of the most significant increases since 200 million tokens were available at launch on Jan. 17.
The token unlock follows Republicans losing a procedural vote to advance bills to regulate payment stablecoins, bar exploration of central bank digital currencies and establish crypto market structure. Trump claimed to have convinced dissenting members of his party to change their votes when the matter returns to the floor of the House of Representatives on Wednesday.
The memecoin project said at launch that one billion tokens would be slowly unlocked over three years. Data from Nansen.ai showed the price of TRUMP surged to $10.31 from $9.40 on Wednesday before returning to $10.09 at the time of publication.
Related: Trump touts memecoin as sentiment gauge as $520M unlock nears
Congress is expected to vote on three crypto bills
On Wednesday, a majority of House lawmakers voted to reconsider a package of bills, including the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, or GENIUS Act, the Anti-CBDC Surveillance Act and a crypto market structure bill called the CLARITY Act.
A vote on the resolution failed in the House on Tuesday, but was reportedly revived in response to Trump pressuring many of the 13 Republicans who voted nay.
Trump has come under fire from many members of Congress for his crypto ventures, including the memecoin and hosting a dinner for its top holders, his family’s stake in World Liberty Financial, and claims that his policies are intended as a payoff to cryptocurrency executives and companies who backed his 2024 campaign.
“The $TRUMP memecoin serves NO purpose,” said California Representative Maxine Waters’ office on Sunday. “It only has value because of Trump’s name and public profile. It exists only to extract money from investors and sell access to the White House.”
Waters and other Democrats in the House have proposed amendments specifically to address what they called “crypto corruption” facilitated by Trump and members of Congress. It was unclear at the time of publication whether any of the provisions will have enough support to pass.
Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions