Donald Trump’s newly-created cryptocurrency soared on Monday to nearly $12 billion in market value, drawing in billions in trading volume, while bitcoin hit a record high just hours ahead of the US President-elect’s return to the White House.

Launched on Friday, Trump’s meme coin, also known as $TRUMP, surged to $58.56 at 0820 GMT on Monday, giving it a market capitalisation of about $11.7 billion, according to CoinMarketCap which ranked it as the 18th biggest cryptocurrency. Its 24-hour trading volume reached $52.5 billion.

Trump had on Friday launched the digital token with branding including an image from his attempted assassination in July, expanding his cryptocurrency interests that already include World Liberty Financial. Of the total number of tokens, 80 percent are owned by CIC Digital LLC, which is an affiliate of Trump’s business The Trump Organization, and another business called Fight Fight Fight LLC, the token’s website says.

Melania Trump launched her own cryptocurrency on Sunday, which was trading at around $12.03, with a market cap of $1.9 billion, at 0820 GMT, according to CoinMarketCap.

Bitcoin hit at new all-time high of $109,071.86 in early European trading. The world’s largest cryptocurrency has surged more than 10 percent so far this month.

“Pandora’s Box”

Even cryptocurrency community participants were surprised by the launch of Trump's meme coin.

“While it’s tempting to dismiss this as just another Trump spectacle, the launch of the official Trump token opens up a Pandora’s box of ethical and regulatory questions,” said Justin D'Anethan, an independent crypto analyst based in Hong Kong.

While the coin represented a blending of the world of decentralised finance (DeFi) into the political arena, it also “blurs the lines between governance, profit, and influence,” D’Anethan said.

“Should public figures, especially those with such political clout, wield this kind of sway in speculative markets? That’s a question regulators are unlikely to ignore,” he said.

Peter Schiff, chief economist and global strategist at Euro Pacific Asset Management, pointed to the jump in $TRUMP’s value and called it the new digital gold, on messaging platform X.

Trump has promised to be a “crypto president”, and is expected to issue executive orders aimed at reducing crypto regulatory roadblocks and promoting widespread adoption of digital assets.

He is due to assume the presidency at noon ET (1700 GMT) on Monday.

The prospect of looser regulations around crypto policy has been met with fanfare by the industry and had turbocharged a rally in bitcoin following Trump’s election victory in November.