Following the 100-minute debate on September 11 between U.S. presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, Trump-related memecoins experienced a significant downturn.
According to data from Coingecko, the total market capitalization of PolitiFi – a market focused on politically themed memecoins – dropped by more than 11% in the past 24 hours, now sitting at $536 million. This decline is a direct result of Trump’s underwhelming performance in the debate, sparking investor concerns about his re-election chances.
Among these memecoins, MAGA (TRUMP) – one of the most prominent tokens on the PolitiFi market – fell over 8.5% within 24 hours following the debate, marking a substantial slide. As the second-largest memecoin by market cap in the political token sector, this drop attracted significant attention. Since its peak of $17.07 in June 2024, MAGA has steadily declined, currently valued at $2.84, losing nearly 85% of its value in just three months.
Another notable memecoin, MAGA HAT, inspired by Trump’s iconic “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN” hat, saw a 10.2% drop and at one point plunged by 22% shortly after the debate concluded. This sharp decline underscores growing instability in investor confidence regarding Trump’s political prospects.
Doland Tremp (TREMP) also suffered a steep decline of 14.8%, pushing its token value down to $0.1384. Over the past month, TREMP has dropped 20.8%, reflecting the mounting concerns surrounding Trump’s chances of success in the upcoming election.
In contrast, Kamala Horris (KAMA) – a memecoin inspired by Kamala Harris – surged by 7.3% immediately after the debate. This increase reflects growing confidence among the investment community in Harris’s potential victory in the U.S. presidential race, particularly after her impressive debate performance.
Analysts at Bitfinex remarked that the Harris-Trump debate had turned into a “sell the news” event for Trump-related memecoins, as Trump’s performance fell short of market expectations, especially when compared to his previous debates with Joe Biden.
Meanwhile, the broader cryptocurrency market, including Bitcoin and major altcoins, showed little reaction to the debate. This indicates that the clash between the two candidates had a noticeable impact on politically themed tokens, particularly those tied to Trump, but did not significantly affect the overall crypto market.
Although cryptocurrencies were not a topic of discussion during the debate, investors still hold hope that Trump could benefit the sector, given his past pledge to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the world” if re-elected. However, Trump’s underperformance against Harris has placed significant selling pressure on his associated memecoins, leading to substantial losses in their value.
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