Trump and his wife promote the "Cheer" game behind Meme coins: Who truly profits from this controversy?

Starting from the Argentina Scandal: Traces of “Insider Trading” on the Blockchain

Last February, Argentine President Javier Milei endorsed a token called “Libra Coin.” Within hours of promotion, the token’s price plummeted, and Milei immediately deleted the related content. This blunder should have gone unnoticed, but it unexpectedly marked the beginning of a larger upheaval.

Blockchain data tracking experts discovered abnormal trading patterns during Libra Coin’s collapse: certain addresses bought in before the token was publicly available and then quickly sold off, making profits of up to tens of millions of dollars. Further analysis revealed these addresses were linked to wallets associated with two other “mysterious tokens”—the ones that later shocked the crypto world—“Trump” and “Melania.”

Following this lead, reporters uncovered the behind-the-scenes operators manipulating these tokens: a young man named Hayden Davis and his massive “value extraction machine.”

From Dogecoin to Trump: How Meme Coins Became “Legal Looting”

Rewinding to 2013, two software engineers created Dogecoin using a “Shiba Inu” meme with slanted eyes, originally as a parody of the chaos in the crypto market. Who would have thought that investors would swarm in, turning this joke into a multi-million dollar asset overnight?

This unexpected event inspired the entire industry: if tokens with no real value could attract money, then as long as you knew how to hype, anything could become an “investment.” Over the next decade, Meme coins flooded the scene—Dogwifhat, Bonk, Fartcoin… They lack products, cash flow, or any fundamental support; the only investment logic is “find the next sucker.”

Since early 2024, platforms issuing such tokens, like Pump.fun, have accumulated over $1 billion in trading fees. Founder Cohen revealed that the platform has helped launch about 1,400 Meme coins, with a simple interface that allows creating tokens with just a few clicks, requiring no technical skills.

“According to the Efficient Market Hypothesis, this shouldn’t work at all, but the reality is—it’s really profitable,” Cohen said in an interview.

The Mysterious “Fight Fight Fight LLC”: How the Trump Family Entered?

Mid-January 2025, then-President Trump posted an announcement on social media launching his own cryptocurrency called “TRUMP.” Within hours, his wife Melania also released her own “Melania” token.

The power of this “cheerleading” was beyond imagination: within just 48 hours, the market value of these two tokens exceeded $50 billion, and the Trump family and their business partners’ tokens once valued in the billions. But the good times didn’t last—prices crashed sharply, leaving hundreds of thousands of ordinary investors with nothing. According to crypto analysis firms, the Trump team may have cashed out over $350 million.

Even more bizarre, no one knows how Trump and Melania launched these tokens. The token website footer only listed a mysterious company name—“Fight Fight Fight LLC.”

Following this lead, reporters found a businessman named Bill Zanker, in his seventies. He had co-authored business books with Trump and had been promoting various “get-rich-quick” schemes for years. As early as 2022, when Trump faced legal troubles after leaving office, Zanker developed NFT products that earned Trump at least $7 million. Now, he reappeared in the Meme coin scandal but remained notably low-profile—unable to be reached by phone or message.

Argentina Advisor Davis’s “$100 Million Business”

The real key figure who surfaced is a young crypto consultant named Hayden Davis. Davis, who previously promoted Libra Coin, made a hefty profit through cooperation with a Latin American leader during the scandal. Blockchain data analysis shows Davis and his partners profited over $150 million from Libra-related transactions.

After the Argentina scandal of “president involved in pump-and-dump,” Davis unusually posted a video claiming credit. He admitted helping to issue Libra Coin but argued it was just “custodial funds.” More painfully, crypto media exposed alleged messages from Davis to his associates, where he used obscene language to describe the leader and claimed, “Whatever I say, he signs.”

Later, Davis gave an interview to a “fraud-busting blogger,” confessing that the Meme coin industry is “completely untrustworthy,” but he also revealed—he participated in the issuance of the “Melania” token, though he insists he “didn’t make money.”

The Hidden Role of Exchange Executives

Davis’s true backer is a crypto exchange called Meteora. The platform appears professional but is actually a hotbed for Meme coin manipulation.

Meteora’s co-founder, known as “Meow,” uses a cartoon cat wearing an astronaut helmet as his avatar. This mysterious figure wields far more influence than official titles suggest; the issuance of major Meme coins like Trump, Melania, and Libra is linked to him.

When an insider revealed the inside story to a startup founder, Meteora’s CEO Ben Chow admitted during a video call with the whistleblower: he indeed “brokered the connection” for the Melania token, introducing Hayden Davis to the “Melania team.” The recording of this call was leaked, causing a stir, and Chow immediately resigned.

“The Dollar is Also a Meme Coin”: Meow’s Philosophy and Evasion

After multiple interactions, Meow’s true identity gradually emerged—he is a Singaporean businessman named Wu Mingyao, in his forties.

During a meeting at a cat café in Singapore, Wu Mingyao presented a complete philosophical argument. He claimed that all financial assets are essentially “Meme coins” because their value is based on “collective belief”—including the US dollar. He even said he was designing a system called “GUM” (Global Unified Market), where anyone could trade any asset.

When asked about Trump tokens, Davis’s role, and Meteora’s involvement, Wu Mingyao suddenly became evasive. He admitted someone contacted Meteora for “technical support” before the tokens were issued but emphasized that the company “did not participate in any transactions.” He used a vivid metaphor to defend himself: “There might be dog feces, baby feces, even E. coli in the bathtub, but maybe there’s actually a baby inside. What I mean is—that ‘baby’ exists.”

His implication is that although the Meme coin market is chaotic, technological innovation itself has value.

The “Baby” in the Bathtub and the Out-of-Control “Cheerleading” Game

Perhaps Wu Mingyao’s metaphor is vivid, but reality is much harsher.

According to legal documents, New York lawyer Max Burwick claims the entire Meme coin system is “designed by a group of highly capable people as the ‘ultimate value extraction machine.’” He has sued multiple platforms and individuals on behalf of lost investors, accusing them of market manipulation and “pump-and-dump” scams.

The official stance is even more ambiguous. The US SEC announced they “do not regulate Meme coins,” merely stating that “other fraud laws may still apply”—implying that if fraud can be proven, legal sanctions will follow, but until then, everything remains in a gray area.

Token Collapse and “Diversified Conflict of Interests”

As of now, TRUMP has fallen 92% from its peak to $5.9; Melania’s decline is even more severe—99%, almost worthless. Most ordinary investors who bought at the high are now completely wiped out.

Hayden Davis has become a “pariah” in the industry, with no updates on social media, but blockchain data shows his wallet still conducts Meme coin transactions. Meanwhile, Meteora, controlled by Wu Mingyao, issued its own cryptocurrency in October, with a total market cap exceeding $300 million.

At the same time, Trump and his family have shifted their focus to a “diversified conflict of interest portfolio.” The president promoted a plan for the “U.S. government to purchase Bitcoin for strategic reserves”; his son is involved in Bitcoin mining; the government advanced large defense deals with Middle Eastern countries; and the Trump brand was licensed for overseas real estate projects.

Many influencers who once promoted Meme coins are now seeking new “cheerleading” opportunities—predictive market platforms are becoming their new favorite. Forecasting markets, once deemed “illegal gambling” during the previous administration, are now thriving under the Trump administration’s relaxed attitude, with members of the Trump family involved as well.

Lack of Regulation: The Dream of “Unlimited Money” and Reality

Perhaps Wu Mingyao is right: “This world wants to make money immediately, to get rich without effort.” Meme coins are the ultimate expression of this desire.

But when rules are set by “hype creators” themselves, how chaotic does the market become? As long as core participants remain silent, it’s hard to uncover the truth behind transactions. In traditional stock markets, regulators can scrutinize trading records and request copies of private information; but in the decentralized crypto world, none of that exists.

What is certain is: no matter where the Meme coin market ultimately goes, those early insiders—whether Davis, Wu Mingyao, or their behind-the-scenes interests—have already realized their “dream” through this “cheerleading” game. As for hundreds of thousands of ordinary investors, they are just “baby feces” in the bathtub.