Cathie Wood has publicly stated she will not invest in the newly launched Trump Coin, describing it as a meme coin lacking utility.
Cathie Wood has publicly stated she will not invest in the newly launched Trump Coin, describing it as a meme coin lacking utility.
Wood highlighted the speculative nature of the Trump Coin, noting that the only perceived utility is the potential for holders to meet President Trump. She emphasized that there is little information available on the coin's utility, characterizing it primarily as a reflection of Trump himself.
The Trump Coin saw a dramatic 11,000% surge shortly after its launch, contributing to a 30% increase in meme coin trading volumes, which reached $17.98 billion over the past week.
However, Wood indicated that ARK Invest will remain focused on more established cryptocurrencies, specifically Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana.
In her remarks, Wood drew parallels between the current meme coin trend and the initial coin offering (ICO) movement of 2017, suggesting that while some in the traditional crypto community viewed ICOs negatively, they nonetheless attracted significant interest in cryptocurrency technology.
According to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, the Trump Coin and another token, the Official Melania Meme (MELANIA), are predominantly controlled by 40 crypto whales.
These individuals control approximately 94% of the combined token supply, with wallets holding $10 million or more in either token.
Despite the concentration of wealth among a few holders, Chainalysis reported that the launch of these tokens introduced a wave of new users to the crypto space, with many creating wallets on the same day they made their purchases.