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Hunter Biden is launching a memecoin. It’s called LAPTOP, it hits Coinbase’s Base network on September 9, and people are already angry about it.
Biden announced the date on September 7 with a short post on X. The Wall Street Journal put the total supply at one billion tokens. He and the other founders are keeping 30% of those tokens, locked for six months, then released gradually over two years. Another 20% goes out via airdrops — one wave aimed at TRUMP memecoin investors who got burned, a second targeting Biden’s Substack subscribers and a list put together by journalist Andrew Callaghan. That’s the basic structure. Simple enough on paper. Messy in practice.
The TRUMP angle is pretty much the whole pitch.
Why TRUMP Investors Are the Target
The TRUMP memecoin peaked in January 2025 with a market cap that briefly touched $15 billion. It’s down nearly 97% from that high. That’s a brutal number, and a lot of retail investors took real losses. LAPTOP is positioning itself as a kind of remedy — or at least that’s the framing. Whether investors who already got wrecked once want to bet on a politically themed memecoin a second time is a different question entirely.
The token burn mechanic is worth noting too. The project says it will burn up to 30% of its supply if certain things happen: a Democratic victory in the 2028 elections, Bitcoin hitting a new all-time high, or LAPTOP’s own valuation surpassing that of the TRUMP memecoin. If none of those conditions get met, the tokens earmarked for burning go to charitable organizations instead. It’s an unusual structure — tying a burn event to election outcomes and Bitcoin price milestones isn’t something you see every day. Unclear how seriously the market will take it.
Kraken Pulls Content, Key Names Walk Away
Kraken ran some promotional material for LAPTOP and then pulled it after users pushed back hard. People weren’t happy about a major exchange appearing to endorse a political memecoin. Kraken hasn’t ruled out a future listing, but the promotional content is gone. That’s not a great start.
Jordan Fish — known online as Cobie — stepped in to clarify something that was apparently causing confusion. Launching a token on Base doesn’t require Coinbase’s approval, and Coinbase has no partnership with LAPTOP. That’s just how Base works as a public blockchain. But the confusion itself is telling. People are looking for reasons to be skeptical, and the project’s communication hasn’t helped.
Jesse Pollak, Base’s founder, confirmed he’d been in contact with the LAPTOP team. He was clear, though: Base didn’t contribute to the design or the marketing. The network is open, anyone can deploy on it, and that’s basically the extent of Base’s involvement.
Andrew Callaghan’s situation is maybe the most awkward. His name shows up on the airdrop list — Biden’s team apparently planned to use a list Callaghan curated. Callaghan denied any involvement and was direct about it: his outlet, Channel 5, doesn’t see crypto as a legitimate investment. Having your name attached to a project you want nothing to do with is a bad look for everyone.
Fake Tokens Already Circulating
Unofficial LAPTOP tokens started appearing on various networks, including Base, back in June. The project hadn’t published an official contract address yet as of the launch date, which means anyone trading LAPTOP before the official deployment was probably buying a fake. That’s a real risk. Impersonation tokens are common around hyped launches, and political memecoins draw extra attention from people looking to exploit the confusion.
The broader environment for political memecoins seems rougher now than it was in early 2025. When TRUMP launched, platforms were quicker to engage and investors were more willing to pile in despite the obvious risks. Now there’s more caution — from exchanges, from named figures who don’t want the association, from a market that’s seen how fast these things can collapse. Kraken’s pullback is probably the clearest sign of that shift.
The project is moving forward anyway. Distribution phases are set, the token structure is defined, and the launch date landed on September 9. Whether the airdrop recipients — TRUMP investors, Substack subscribers, Callaghan’s list — actually show up and trade is the real unknown. Early trading volumes will say more than any press release.
Copies of the LAPTOP name had been spotted on Base since June.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the LAPTOP memecoin and who is behind it?
LAPTOP is a memecoin launched by Hunter Biden on Coinbase’s Base network, with a total supply of one billion tokens and founders retaining 30% locked for six months.
Why did Kraken remove LAPTOP promotional content?
Kraken pulled the content after users criticized the exchange for appearing to endorse a political memecoin, though Kraken has not ruled out a future listing of LAPTOP.
Why It Matters
The launch of the LAPTOP memecoin amid significant backlash highlights the growing intersection of political figures and the cryptocurrency space, potentially influencing public perception and market behavior. The decision to allocate a substantial portion of tokens to the founders and the planned airdrops could raise concerns about the long-term sustainability and utility of the token, which may affect investor confidence in similar projects. As memecoins often rely on social sentiment and community engagement, the contentious nature of its launch may lead to increased scrutiny within the broader crypto market.
