Hunter Biden is taking a page from the political memecoin playbook, but with a twist that's purely his own. On Tuesday, he announced the launch of his own token, LAPTOP, and he's framing it as both a middle finger to his critics and a lifeline to those burned by the Official Trump (CRYPTO: TRUMP) token.
The name is a direct reference to the infamous laptop that surfaced during the 2020 election, which contained emails about his foreign business dealings and other personal material. Biden, however, is spinning the narrative. "The symbol they used to try to end me is now a symbol of resilience, redemption, and recovery," he said in an X post. "They turned laptop into a weapon. I turned it into a token."
It's a bold move, especially given the skepticism surrounding political memecoins. Biden acknowledged the "cynicism" head-on, pointing out that holders of President Donald Trump's official token have collectively lost a staggering $3.81 billion. "Trump has broken trust in everything he's ever touched. And his token was no exception," he added.
So what's the actual plan for LAPTOP? According to Biden, 20% of the supply will be airdropped to the community, specifically including those who lost money on what he calls the "TRUMP grift." Another 30% is locked into a pre-programmed burn mechanism that triggers on specific world events, and 50 million tokens are set aside for charity. Biden was quick to temper expectations, though, urging people not to expect him to pump the token's value. "LAPTOP isn't just about owning something; it's about saying something," he said.
Not everyone is buying it. Stephen Findeisen, better known as Coffeezilla, the on-chain detective who's made a name for himself calling out crypto scams, had some harsh words for Biden's venture. "After months of calling out Trump corruption, Hunter Biden is launching his own shitcoin called LAPTOP," he posted on X. "Do not buy it."
Despite the criticism, LAPTOP is set to debut on Wednesday on Base, the Layer 2 blockchain developed by Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN). This isn't Biden's first foray into crypto; he's been accepting Bitcoin for his artwork and has been issuing blockchain-based certificates of authenticity for his pieces.
Whether LAPTOP will be a vehicle for redemption or just another footnote in the wild world of political memecoins remains to be seen. But one thing's for sure: Hunter Biden is making sure the laptop story doesn't fade away quietly.
