US Presidential debate impacts political memecoin market

As President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump engaged in a historic televised debate, politically-themed memecoins experienced price fluctuations.

The market for these tokens, now valued at $1.3 billion according to Coingecko’s PolitiFi category data, has dropped by 7.5% in the last day. Furthermore, several prominent candidate-inspired memecoins saw significant declines during the debate.

On Ethereum (ETH), MAGA (TRUMP) fell 6.4% and MAGA Hat (MAGA) dropped 10.8% in an hour. Solana-based (SOL) tokens Jeo Boden (BODEN) and Doland Tremp (TREMP) decreased by 26% and 9.4% respectively, while Ethereum’s Super Trump (STRUMP) declined 1.8%. Over the last 24 hours, MAGA is 11.1% down, BODEN nearly 46%, TREMP 12.3% and STRUMP 19.4%.

According to The Block, Memepad founder Max Jones suggests these tokens may serve as informal popularity indicators for candidates as the election campaign intensifies. He noted their volatility is linked to both political hype and broader market trends.

Traders monitored the debate for insights into the candidates’ stances on cryptocurrency. Trump has previously criticized Biden’s approach to Bitcoin (BTC) and advocated for domestic Bitcoin mining.

The presidential crypto war

The Block reported that Bitfinex analysts view Trump as potentially more crypto-friendly, as he promised to be time and time again. They suggest a Trump victory could lead to a more supportive regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies.

Biden has proved to be a way less crypto-friendly candidate. Earlier this month he vetoed a House of Representatives move that sought to repeal the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Staff Accounting Bulletin 121 (SAB 121).

The move in question was a bipartisan effort that saw a dozen Democrats aligning with the majority of Republicans to support the resolution, easily surpassing the simple majority needed for passage. Issued in 2022, SAB 121 required companies holding customers’ cryptocurrencies to record them on their own balance sheets, potentially having significant capital implications for banks working with crypto clients.

Since then, Biden adopted a more crypto-favorable stance. Biden campaign’s increased engagement with the crypto community began after Trump started fighting for the crypto vote. Earlier this month news spread that Biden’s campaign team is reportedly in talks with key players in the cryptocurrency industry to potentially accept cryptocurrency donations through Coinbase Commerce.