Crypto Meets Politics: What You Need to Know About PolitiFi and Political Meme Coins

Memecoins in general, a fusion of cryptocurrency and internet culture, typically capture viral trend or a cultural zeitgeist. They tend to explode in popularity, with their prices skyrocketing, attracting investors seeking quick profits. However, the vast majority of memecoins eventually see their price plunge and then disappear into oblivion.

Not all of memecoins undergo this unenviable fate. Dogecoin, the first cryptocurrency based on an Internet meme released at the end of 2013, is still around more than a decade later. It is today the sixth-largest cryptocurrency, with a market cap exceeding $17.6 billion.

There have since been several cycles during which the interest for memecoins boomed. The latest one involves the emergence of political finance (PolitiFi) and its related PolitiFicoins.

Vast majority of top PolitiFi coins are linked to Trump, but ConstitutionDAO stands out

One would think that memecoins pertaining to the pro-crypto Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump would top the ranking of political memecoins, but this isn’t the case, CoinMarketCap’s data shows. It’s actually ConstitutionDAO with the ticker PEOPLE that ranks first, tracked by six Trump-related memecoins with the following tickers: TRUMP, MAGA, STRUMP, MAGAA, MAGA VP and BABYTRUMP. There are even memecoins named after Trump’s wife Melania and his vice candidate JD Vance, with tickers bearing their names. 

Memecoins linked to the Democratic Party also exist but are much rarer. Those related to their presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, have far smaller market capitalizations than those linked to Trump’s, but there are a couple of them: HARRIS, KAMA, KAMALA, and there is even one making fun of the incumbent US President, Joe Biden, with the ticker BODEN.

The PolitiFi coins are often satirical, humorous and highly speculative. Their value is often driven by real-world events or community trends, or by investors wanting to make a political statement. The MAGA PolitiFi coin, for example, surged more than 50 percent following the botched assassination attempt on Trump mid-July.

Their combined market capitalization nevertheless exceeds $600 million, with PEOPLE dominating with a market cap above $415 million, tracked by the $140 million of the TRUMP memecoin and the $35 million of the MAGA political memecoin.

World Liberty Finance, another Trump-related PolitiFi project

Last month, Donald Trump’s sons announced the launch of the crypto project World Liberty Finance (WLFI). Its goal: the mass adoption of US-pegged stablecoins, now that the dominance of the greenback is threatened by the ten BRICS countries. They are looking for alternatives to the US dollar and for greater use of local currencies.

“Our mission is crystal clear: Make crypto and America great by driving the mass adoption of stablecoins and decentralized finance. We believe that DeFi is the future, and we’re committed to making it accessibleand secure for everyone, “ WLFI wrote on its Telegram channel. 

The whitelists for WLFI tokens that will be available to the public – accredited US investors and non-US residents – opened up on Sept 30. The remaining tokens are earmarked to WLFI’s founders, team and service providers.

The Trump-backed PolitiFi project will eventually offer borrowing and lending services for cryptocurrencies on the Ethereum blockchain network and will be regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), according to Decrypt. WLFI’s market cap was a mere $48,169 on Oct 1.