Two public mentions and a bill of 3.56 million dollars. Eric Trump and Beeple, without buying or endorsing anything, just validated the first two political bets integrated into Hunter Biden’s LAPTOP memecoin. Result, 10 million tokens, or 1% of the total supply, went up in smoke. The token, which peaked at 199.51 dollars on September 9th, now trades around 0.38 dollars, a drop of 99.8%.
LAPTOP does not work like an ordinary memecoin. 30% of its 1 billion token supply is tied to 30 public predictions concerning real political events. Each has two possible outcomes:
This is the mechanism that just triggered twice. Digital artist Mike Winkelmann, aka Beeple, publicly mentioned the token, settling the first bet and burning 5 million tokens. Eric Trump did the same for the second, burning the remaining 5 million. Hunter Biden confirmed both events, and the project account announced the removal of 1% of the total supply from circulation, i.e., 10 million tokens, about 3.56 million dollars at the current price. Neither Beeple nor Eric Trump bought LAPTOP, supported it, or commented on its economic model. They just named it, and the supply moved on its own.
Hunter Biden confirms the drop of the anti-Trump memecoin LAPTOP. 3.56 million dollars sounds impressive on paper. Compared to what LAPTOP has already lost, the amount seems small. The token is currently trading near 0.38 dollars, with a market cap around 140 million dollars and a fully diluted valuation close to 389 million. Its record, 199.51 dollars, was reached on September 9th, barely two hours after launch.
On launch day, LAPTOP of Hunter Biden had already collapsed 98% within 90 minutes, falling from 199 to 1.36 dollars before stabilizing near 2.54 dollars. It then lost about another 85%. A daily volume of 22 million dollars for a 140 million dollar market cap tells the rest of the story. In a statement released after the crash, the project team pointed to sniper bots and low liquidity rather than insider selling.
An elegant way of saying, fend for yourself.
Here is the irony of the affair. Eric Trump has been making public appearances about bitcoin for several days. In a recent interview, he explains that the more AI revolution progresses, the more crypto will become mainstream, citing JPMorgan, which now accepts bitcoin as collateral for mortgages, as proof that something is changing in the world. He even defends bitcoin as an alternative to real estate assets, considered illiquid and exposed to local political risks, unlike bitcoin.
An outspoken crypto supporter who unwittingly triggered a bonfire on a token designed as a mockery to his own family. Worse scenarios exist. This one at least has the merit of being funny.
LAPTOP of Hunter Biden proves that a memecoin can now react to a Twitter conversation rather than a market. Eric Trump and Beeple sold nothing, bought nothing, just talked, and 3.56 million dollars disappeared. At this rate, the next victim of the burn will probably be another politician without a crypto wallet.
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