Hunter Biden launched a memecoin tied to the laptop controversy that shaped parts of the 2020 election. The token, called $LAPTOP, opened at $199.50 on Wednesday and fell to $26.88 within 30 minutes, an 86.5% drop, according to CoinGecko. Trading volume topped $2.5 million. The token runs on Base, Coinbase’s Ethereum layer-2 network.
Base stays at arm’s length
Base founder Jesse Pollak said the project team contacted Base, but the network made a conscious decision not to help design or promote the token. That detail matters. A public blockchain can host a token, but that does not mean its builder endorses the token or its pitch.
Biden framed the launch as a way to reclaim a symbol. In an X post, he said the laptop had become a symbol of resilience, redemption and recovery. He also said he understood why people are cynical about memecoins. He called President Donald Trump’s token a grift and warned buyers not to expect him or anyone else to make $LAPTOP more valuable.
The project’s own disclosures back up that warning. They describe $LAPTOP as a digital collectible with no utility, no ownership rights, no voting rights, no yield and no profit-sharing rights. Supply is fixed at 1 billion tokens. About 350 million circulated at launch. Founders, including Biden, get 300 million tokens, or 30% of supply. Those tokens are locked for six months, then vest monthly over 24 months.
Airdrops and political bets
Another 30% is tied to political, cultural and crypto predictions. Tokens are burned if specified outcomes happen. If they do not, the tokens go to charity. Airdrops account for 20% of supply. The first round is 10%, with 2% reserved for wallets that lost money on $TRUMP and 8% for eligible subscribers to Biden’s “Where’s Hunter” Substack newsletter. A future 10% airdrop will be distributed at the foundation’s discretion. The $TRUMP-loss allocation is capped at 2%.
The launch drew criticism. Digital investigator Stephen Findeisen, known as Coffeezilla, called $LAPTOP a shitcoin and told followers not to buy it. One X account told Biden there was still time to walk it back. Biden did not respond to Cointelegraph before publication.
There is also a hypocrisy argument. In August, Biden criticized World Liberty Financial for using political influence and centralized controls to benefit its founders. He said the crypto industry deserved better. Now he has a memecoin built around his own political identity, with founders allocated a large share of supply.
Maybe this is the point. Memecoins can turn a news cycle into a tradable asset, but they rarely turn a controversial figure into a credible steward of value. The $LAPTOP launch shows how fast a political symbol can become a market product, and how quickly traders can reject the pitch.
