Just days before US President Donald Trump's inauguration, the crypto industry was taken relatively by surprise with the launch of Official Trump (TRUMP), which was swiftly followed by Official Melania (MELANIA) — two memecoins launched by the first family that have pumped and yo-yoed in the days that followed.

The president's memecoin hit a peak of $72 on Jan. 19, then dipped to $44 on Jan. 20 when MELANIA launched. The coin briefly recovered while the president was sworn into office and has since hovered around the $40 mark. At the time of writing, the president's memecoin is $37 — down 49% from its peak.

If speculation is to be believed, more official memecoins by the Trump family are on the way. Though touted as "memecoins," their significance is unprecedented.

It was difficult to imagine an incoming American president launching his own memecoin before Jan. 18. Now, it's hard to picture TRUMP and other tokens not playing a pivotal role in the US political sphere.

As crypto lawyer Preston Byrne wrote in a blog post, "Crypto is going to be a bigger political football than it's ever been. Everyone who cares about politics is going to care about it, with no exceptions."

This includes Democrats and disgruntled investors, who, according to Byrne, are 100% likely to sue the project within two months.

Is TRUMP even illegal?

James Thurber, founder and former director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, told the Guardian that Trump is blatantly profiting from his own pro-crypto agenda.

"There are shameful and major conflicts of interest with respect to his family business benefiting from his cryptocurrency policies," Thurber said. 

Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget Research, told Cointelegraph that TRUMP has "drawn new investors into the space." But new audiences aren't necessarily aware of what makes a sound investment. The launch of TRUMP and MELANIA has predictably made winners and losers, with some shedding millions of dollars as prices slumped.