(NewsNation) — President-elect Donald Trump’s newly created cryptocurrency token has risen to more than $10 billion in market capitalization on its second Inauguration Day.

Trump announced the new $TRUMP meme coin on Friday, writes about Truth Social: “It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING! Join my very special Trump community.”

On Sunday, Melania Trump launched her own meme coin, $MELANIA, writes on X: “The official Melania Meme is live! You can buy $MELANIA now.”

Here’s what you need to know about the bizarre world of meme coins and the ethical concerns surrounding the president’s involvement:

What is a meme coin?

Meme coins are cryptocurrencies inspired by internet trends or jokes. They have no intrinsic value. They are worth what someone else is willing to pay. In some cases it can be a lot.

Dogecoin, the first meme coin, was meant as satire to mock Bitcoin, but its viral popularity has led to real gains for many. DOGE has a current market value of about 55 billion dollars.

Unlike stocks, which represent an ownership stake in a company, meme coins’ value is based on hype, making them notoriously volatile and risky to invest in.

Are the Trump meme coins worth anything?

The Trump meme coins started selling for less than $10 each before rising above $70 on Sunday. As of Monday morning, the price was under $50.

The Melania coin was trading at around $8 on Monday morning, down from $13 on Sunday evening.

These price swings underscore the volatility that makes meme coins so risky for buyers.

A community note was later added to Melania’s notice on Xreads: “Buying this token is incredibly risky and will likely result in loss of funds.”

The meme coins’ official websites warn potential buyers that the Trump and Melania cryptocoins are “digital collectibles intended to serve as an expression of support for and commitment to the values ​​embodied by the symbol $TRUMP” and the symbol ” MELANIA”.

The disclaimer goes on to say that the tokens “are not intended to be, or to be the subject of, an investment opportunity, investment contract or security of any kind.”

Instead, Trump’s meme-coin website encourages buyers to, “Celebrate our victory and have fun!”

Why did Trump launch a meme coin?

Trump is expected to be the most pro-crypto president in history and his entry into space suggests the same. The project is also likely to enrich him personally and raise ethical questions.

“The tokens released by Donald and Melania Trump appear to symbolize support for the digital currency sector. However, the introduction of these coins during the presidential inauguration raises concerns about potential conflicts of interest,” Grzegorz Drozdz, market analyst at Conotoxia, told CNBC.

Justin D’Anethan, an independent cryptoanalyst based in Hong Kong, told Reuters: “While it’s tempting to dismiss this as just another Trump play, the launch of the official Trump token opens up a Pandora’s box of ethical and regulatory issues.”

The Trump meme coin was organized by CIC Digital, a subsidiary of the Trump Organization. CIC Digital and another company jointly own 80% of the Trump meme coins and “will receive trading revenue from trading activities.” according to the official website.

The mint’s website said 200 million Trump meme coins are currently available, with plans to issue 1 billion over the next three years.

Felix Salmon, Chief Financial Officer at Axios, put it like this: “Trump just delivered a master class in a president’s ability to turn power into wealth.”

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