Hunter Biden, son of former U.S. President Joe Biden, has recently become active on X (formerly Twitter) discussing his interest in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. He expressed a past desire to sell his art as NFTs and accept Bitcoin as payment, referencing "The Internet of Money" by Andreas Antonopoulos. This has led to mixed reactions within the crypto community, with some welcoming him and others, like author Zeke Faux and investor Lyn Alden, expressing skepticism and concern about a potential "memecoin scam" or the launch of a Biden-branded token. They point to a trend of celebrities promoting crypto and then launching their own tokens, which often resemble pump-and-dump schemes.
The context of this activity includes the emergence of several Hunter Biden-themed memecoins. One such token, "Hunter Biden's Laptop" ($LAPTOP), is described as a "community takeover" project that aims to expose corruption. It operates on the Solana network with a circulating supply of approximately 1.3 billion $LAPTOP and a market cap of around £8,036 ($10,210). Another, "Official Hunter Biden Coin" (HUNTER), launched on Solana shortly after Biden's appearance on Candace Owens' podcast. This token, with a market cap near $197,000 and a 24-hour gain of about 729% at its peak, carries significant warning signs, including 83.79% concentration in the top 10 wallets and 30.37% held by the developer wallet.
Analysts and critics are wary of these developments. Adam Ortolf, Founding Partner at Stranded Energy Investments, questioned the quick embrace of any celebrity by the crypto community. The high concentration of HUNTER tokens in a few wallets, combined with 69.3% bundler activity and a 30.4% phishing risk score, indicates a high-risk speculative asset. The Block reported that concerns over the current president's family potentially profiting from crypto, estimated at $1.4 billion in 2025, could jeopardize the progression of the crypto regulatory bill known as the Clarity Act.
