Two crypto tokens linked to US President Donald Trump led losses among the top 100 digital assets on Wednesday following the US midterm elections, even as the broader crypto market rallied.
Official Trump (TRUMP) fell 17% over 24 hours to $1.33, while World Liberty Financial (WLFI) dropped more than 7% to $0.047, according to CoinMarketCap data from around 5:32 p.m. UTC. TRUMP is the president's official memecoin, launched in January 2025, while WLFI is the governance token of World Liberty Financial, a Trump family-backed decentralized finance project launched in 2024.
The declines followed a wave of Democratic victories in Tuesday's midterm elections, including surprise wins in Texas, with the party winning control of both the House and Senate from Republicans. The results could make it harder for Trump to push forward his crypto plans and could bring more scrutiny to his family's crypto businesses.
Political tokens slide while Bitcoin, Ether rally
Bitcoin (BTC) rose more than 4% over 24 hours to around $80,500, while Ether (ETH) climbed 6% to $2,433, according to CoinMarketCap data. Other major cryptocurrencies also posted gains, with BNB rising 3%, XRP climbing 2.6% and Solana (SOL) gaining 2.5%. The overall crypto market rose 3.4% to $2.69 trillion.
Losses extended to other Trump family-linked tokens. The MELANIA memecoin, associated with First Lady Melania Trump, dropped nearly 13% over 24 hours to around $0.066. A separate token named after Vice President JD Vance (VANCE) also dropped nearly 12%, although it has no confirmed official connection to the vice president.
The political memecoin sector's total market capitalization fell more than 16% on the day to $477 million, while trading volume jumped 123% to $437 million, per CoinMarketCap data.
Analyst: political tokens sensitive to Washington expectations
Benjamin Sarquis Peillard, founder and CEO of Cap, a DeFi platform focused on stablecoin yields, told Cointelegraph that investors appear to be treating politically linked tokens differently from other cryptocurrencies.
"Bitcoin and other established assets respond to a combination of liquidity, institutional flows and macroeconomic conditions, while politically linked tokens can be more sensitive to shifts in expectations around Washington," he said. "Even as the broader market recovers, those tokens may face selling pressure if investors begin reassessing their risk exposure."
Peillard said that while the selloff could reflect a short-term reaction to the election results, the "longer-term question is what supports demand for these tokens beyond their association with a political figure."
The CLARITY Act and beyond
The election results also raise questions about the future of US crypto legislation, including the stalled Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, commonly referred to as the CLARITY Act.
The bill, which aims to establish a regulatory framework for digital assets, failed to advance in the Senate earlier this year after falling short of the 60 votes required. Democrats pushed for stronger ethical provisions and safeguards against conflicts of interest involving Trump's crypto ventures, and four Republicans also opposed advancing the legislation.
"The midterm results introduce a new layer of regulatory uncertainty, particularly around the pace and direction of digital asset legislation," Peillard said. "For politically linked tokens, that uncertainty can have a more immediate impact because investor sentiment is partly tied to expectations around the political environment."
Peillard said that for the broader industry, the "more important question is whether Congress can establish a durable regulatory framework that provides clarity regardless of which party holds power."
