Hunter Biden has attributed the rapid rise and collapse of the LAPTOP meme coin to market maker activity and insufficient liquidity rather than a rug pull, according to a forensic review commissioned by his team.
The review, conducted by Groom Lake, examined every recorded trade from the token's launch. It found that a market maker given $500,000 deployed only approximately $5,200 into the initial liquidity pool, creating severe imbalance. Fewer than 30,000 LAPTOP tokens were initially available, meaning $6 of buying pressure could move the price 5%, while $7,400 of selling pressure was required to achieve the same movement.
LAPTOP climbed from $0.05 to approximately $317 in under two minutes before declining 98% by the end of the first hour. Eighty-four seconds after reaching its peak, the liquidity position linked to the first market maker was withdrawn, reducing available cash for sellers from approximately $16,157 to zero.
Groom Lake compared 668 other token launches and found none with comparable liquidity imbalances. The review identified gains associated with both market makers involved: the first market maker's position showed approximately $686,000 in gains, while the second recorded more than $2.1 million in net USDC receipts.
Biden acknowledged responsibility for hiring the firms and called for the market maker he believes mishandled the launch to repurchase and burn the tokens.
Founder Holdings Remain Intact
On-chain analysis confirmed that the founder wallet holding 300 million LAPTOP tokens—30% of the original supply—made no outgoing transfers through early October. Biden stated his allocation is locked for six months and vests over two years.
LAPTOP currently trades near $0.08, with a market capitalization around $29 million compared to approximately $560 million on launch day. Daily trading volume reached $4.6 million, up 143% from the previous day.
Community response to the report remains mixed. Some traders suggested Biden may have been misled by inexperienced market makers, while others maintained the explanation resembled a post-collapse justification. Crypto consultant Nicki Sanders noted that while the founder wallet claim can be verified on-chain, the report was commissioned by Biden's team and the market makers have not publicly responded.
