Just days ahead of his return to the White House, President Trump and his wife Melania launched a pair of meme coins that have skyrocketed in value and earned them billions of dollars, at least on paper.

The US President’s official meme coin $TRUMP held steady overnight with $8 billion value on January 22, while wife Melania coin is out of top 100, with market capitalisation of $760 million.

President Donald Trump promised crypto investors he’d usher in an era of legitimacy for an industry that’s long been relegated to the financial wilderness — dismissed by some mainstream investors as an highly speculative bet at best or an elaborate Ponzi scheme at worst.