Hunter Biden, son of former US President Joe Biden, plans to launch a memecoin called LAPTOP on Wednesday on Base. Its airdrop should notably benefit investors who lost money on Donald Trump’s TRUMP. However, even before its first exchange, the project is already attracting strong criticism. Several actors cited around the launch have also distanced themselves.
In brief
- The token is set to launch on Base on September 9, with 30% of the supply reserved for founders and 20% earmarked for airdrops.
- Kraken removed a promotional post, while Coinbase denies any partnership.
- Andrew Callaghan, also cited in the project, claims to have no connection to memecoin.
An airdrop for TRUMP losers
Hunter Biden confirmed the launch on X on September 7 with a particularly short message: “$LAPTOP, September 9”. The project is to be deployed on Base, Coinbase’s network, with a total supply of one billion tokens, according to information published by the Wall Street Journal.
The founders, including Hunter Biden, must keep 30% of the tokens. These tokens will be blocked for six months before being gradually released over more than two years. The 20% reserved for airdrops will be distributed in two waves.
The first will target traders who have lost money with the TRUMP memecoin. The second must concern Biden’s Substack subscribers as well as people on journalist Andrew Callaghan’s list, reports CoinDesk.
The choice of this target is far from trivial. The TRUMP was worth around $2.25 on September 8, almost 97% below its record reached in January 2025. Its capitalization then briefly approached $15 billion.
The LAPTOP project also plans to burn up to 30% of the supply in certain circumstances, notably in the event of a Democratic victory in 2028, a new all-time high for Bitcoin or a valuation higher than that of TRUMP. If these conditions are not met, the tokens concerned would be donated to charity.
Kraken, Base and Channel 5 distance themselves
The reputation fled before the product. Kraken removed a post featuring the project after a wave of backlash. Some users criticized the platform in particular for highlighting a new political memecoin.
However, this does not mean that Kraken has given up on possible listing. For his part, Jordan Fish, known under the pseudonym Cobie and responsible for the Base application, recalled that a project could launch a token on the network without obtaining approval from Coinbase. No partnership with LAPTOP exists, he clarified.
Jesse Pollak, founder of Base, also indicated that the memecoin team had contacted the network before its launch. Base, however, chose not to participate in its design or promotion.
Andrew Callaghan also denied any connection with LAPTOP to the Wall Street Journal. Channel 5, the media outlet he runs, is not involved in the project and does not consider cryptocurrencies to be a legitimate investment.
The political memecoin market changes its tone
The contrast with the launch of TRUMP in January 2025 is striking. At the time, there were many criticisms, but they did not stop investors from flocking. Almost two years later, the platforms seem much more cautious when it comes to associating their image with this type of project.
However, the reaction on X will not be enough to determine the success of LAPTOP. The token still faces the real test: its arrival on the market.
Copies already bearing the name LAPTOP are circulating on several networks, including one on Base since June. Without an official contract address, any LAPTOP token exchanged before the announced September 9 launch should therefore be considered with the greatest caution.
The first volumes, the distribution of airdrops and the attitude of the platforms will make it possible to measure the real reception of the project. One thing is already clear: two years after the euphoria around political memecoins, the ground is significantly less favorable.
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