Then-US President-Elect Donald Trump pulled off one of the most successful token launches in recent months when he rolled out the TRUMP memecoin on Solana just three days before his inauguration on January 20, 2025.
According to Binance’s data, TRUMP surged from its initial price of $8.59 to an all-time high of $75.35 in just a day, delivering early investors 760% gains. Even after a significant decline from its January peak following Trump’s inauguration, the digital asset maintains an all-time ROI of 93.13%, trading at $12.95 as of February 27.
The memecoin remains highly active, with $1.3 billion in trading volume over the last 24 hours, reflecting sustained demand despite its price drop. With a $2.64 billion market cap as of February 27th, TRUMP currently ranks as the 38th-largest digital asset.
But why did Trump choose Solana as the blockchain to launch his memecoin in January?
Sparking a Memecoin Craze on Solana
TRUMP’s launch triggered a memecoin frenzy on Solana. Beyond fueling network activity on the high-performance Layer 1 blockchain, it inspired a wave of new digital asset projects looking to replicate its success.
Between January 18 and February 1, 50,000 to 60,000 tokens were launched daily on Pump.Fun—a major increase compared to September 2024’s 5,000-7,000 daily launches or even December 2024’s 30,000-40,000. By the end of January 2025, daily active addresses on the Solana-based memecoin platform had soared to nearly 285,000.
This surge in demand drove SOL’s price to new highs, with the cryptocurrency hitting an all-time high of $261.87 on January 19. On that day, SOL’s year-to-date (YTD) gains stood at 38.37%.
Beyond price action, Solana saw a significant uptick in network activity due to TRUMP’s impact. Between January 13 and January 24, the blockchain’s DeFi total value locked (TVL) jumped 46.2%. Additionally, SOL’s 24-hour trading volume reached an all-time high of $33.17 billion on January 19.
However, the rise of memecoins on Solana also brought challenges. Several fraudulent projects exploited the hype, damaging the blockchain’s reputation. A recent investigation linked the $107 million LIBRA rug pull to the same team behind the MELANIA memecoin, which netted $36.5 million for a single whale. Negative press surrounding these scams weighed on SOL’s price, which has since fallen to $140.25 on February 27th.
The Reason Why TRUMP Launched on Solana
While President Trump has not officially explained why he chose Solana for TRUMP’s launch, several factors make it an ideal blockchain for memecoins like his.
Solana is a high-performance Layer 1 blockchain with exceptional speed and scalability. With a theoretical maximum of 65,000 transactions per second (TPS) and a block time of 0.4 seconds, it costs just 0.000143 SOL per transaction. This is significantly lower than Ethereum, where an average ETH transfer costs $0.14 and takes nearly two minutes to confirm.
Beyond its low fees and high throughput, Solana has a thriving DeFi and NFT ecosystem. With a current TVL of $7.201 billion on February 27th, it holds a 7.43% market share in the decentralized finance sector, ranking second behind Ethereum. On the NFT front, Solana recorded $60 million in sales in the last 30 days, making it the third-largest blockchain for non-fungible token trading.
Another key advantage is Solana’s seamless memecoin launch infrastructure. Platforms like Pump.Fun allow anyone to create a token with minimal effort—no coding skills, smart contract knowledge, or liquidity deployment experience required. Users simply pick a name, symbol, and image to mint and list their tokens.
This accessibility removes many of the barriers typically associated with token launches, making it an attractive option for high-profile individuals like Trump. The ability to launch quickly and capitalize on market hype likely played a role in his decision.
Trump’s decision to launch TRUMP on Solana may also have been influenced by the blockchain’s increasing popularity among traders and memecoin enthusiasts. Its fast transactions, low fees, and vibrant ecosystem provided the perfect conditions for a high-profile token launch capable of generating massive hype and trading activity.
Additionally, Solana’s dominant position in the memecoin market, fueled by platforms like Pump.Fun, enabled an easy and frictionless way to bring TRUMP to market without the complexities of other blockchains. This combination of efficiency, accessibility, and momentum made Solana the ideal stage for one of the most talked-about token launches in recent months.
