The Trump and Melania memecoins posted sharp gains on Monday after President Donald Trump expressed optimism about reaching a new U.S.-China trade deal, reigniting investor enthusiasm across parts of the crypto market.
According to data, the TRUMP token — which runs on the Solana blockchain — climbed as much as 30%, jumping from around $6.20 to above $8 before settling near $7.52 by mid-afternoon. It marked the token’s strongest performance in months, following a long stretch of sideways trading and a steep drop earlier in October.
The rally followed Trump’s morning comments about renewed negotiations with Beijing.
Anniek Bao
“I have a lot of respect for President Xi, and we are going to come away with the deal,” Trump said.
The president’s tone was a notable shift from earlier this month, when he imposed retaliatory tariffs on China, triggering a selloff across risk assets — including memecoins tied to his name.
On Monday, trading volume for the TRUMP token exceeded $1 billion, according to CoinMarketCap, with Binance handling roughly 13% of all transactions. The token’s market capitalization now sits above $1.5 billion, underscoring its outsized role in the politically themed crypto niche.
The MELANIA token, a smaller memecoin inspired by First Lady Melania Trump, also surged more than 45%, reaching close to $0.15.
The latest price action comes just days after President Trump pardoned former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, a move that further tightened the perceived links between the Trump camp and segments of the crypto industry.
Prior to the pardon, The Wall Street Journal had reported that Trump’s World Liberty Financial DeFi venture was exploring a potential stake in Binance.US — a claim the company denied. Soon after, Abu Dhabi’s MGX investment firm announced it would use World Liberty’s USD1 stablecoin to complete a $2 billion deal with Binance.
Trump has been accusing Biden of issuing pardons that he's not even aware of.
— Ron Smith (@Ronxyz00) October 23, 2025
Here is Katlin Collins pressing him on the pardon he issued to the founder of Binance and Trump doesn't seem to have a clue.
"I do pardon a lot of people. I don't know. He was recommended by a lot of… pic.twitter.com/hszGYQapK3
Defending his decision to pardon Zhao, Trump said the crypto executive had been “persecuted” by the Biden administration, adding:
“He was recommended by a lot of people ... A lot of people say he wasn’t guilty of anything.”
