From $190 to Under $2: Hunter Biden's $LAPTOP Crypto Coin Crashes Minutes After Launch

Hunter Biden's new cryptocurrency soared to nearly $200 within minutes of its launch on 9 September before collapsing to below $2. The $LAPTOP memecoin reached $190.81 shortly after trading began on the Base blockchain, according to Quartz. Forbes reported that the token briefly reached $222 before falling to $1.79 later in the day. The Washington Post also reported a fall from about $190 to less than $2.

The sharp reversal came just hours after Biden launched the token as a reference to the laptop controversy that became a major political story during the 2020 US presidential election.

$LAPTOP Surges Before the Collapse

The token began trading on Base, an Ethereum layer-2 network developed by Coinbase.

The launch initially attracted intense trading activity. Quartz reported that $LAPTOP climbed from its opening price to $190.81 within about two minutes before falling sharply. Cointelegraph reported that the token opened at $199.50 and had lost 95.7% of its value within its first hour.

The Washington Post reported that about 80% of traders who bought the token on Wednesday lost money, citing blockchain analytics company Bubblemaps. Nicolas Vaiman, chief executive of Bubblemaps, told the newspaper that more than 15,000 crypto wallets had lost money. He also said the token supply was extremely concentrated before launch, leaving it vulnerable to a rapid sell-off.

Why Hunter Biden Chose the Name

The name $LAPTOP refers to the computer that became central to political controversy surrounding Hunter Biden before the 2020 election. Biden has presented the new token as an attempt to reclaim that association. Before the launch, he described the laptop as a symbol that had been used against him and promoted $LAPTOP as a symbol of resilience, redemption, and recovery.

The Wall Street Journal reported before the launch that the project would issue one billion tokens. About 30% was allocated to founders, including Biden, with those tokens subject to a lock-up and vesting schedule. Another 20% was earmarked for people who lost money on Donald Trump's $TRUMP token, Biden's subscribers and a mailing list associated with journalist Andrew Callaghan.

Callaghan Distances Himself

The distribution plan also brought the project into conflict with Callaghan. Callaghan said he and Channel 5 had nothing to do with the cryptocurrency. He said Biden had asked to use a mailing list to expand his audience and that the list was provided for that purpose.

Callaghan also said he and Channel 5 did not consider cryptocurrency a legitimate investment and did not advertise crypto projects. The statement separated Callaghan's media operation from the launch, despite his previous association with Biden.

A Highly Speculative Market

The collapse adds $LAPTOP to a growing list of politically linked cryptocurrencies that have experienced extreme price movements.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Corporation Finance said in February 2025 that certain meme coins are generally driven by speculation and typically have limited or no functionality.

The staff said transactions involving meme coins fitting its description generally do not involve securities, but stressed that the analysis depends on the specific facts. It also said fraudulent conduct involving meme coins could still be subject to enforcement under other federal or state laws.

The SEC's statement does not establish that $LAPTOP is a security or that its launch violated securities laws. For investors, the immediate result was clearer. A token that briefly traded near $200 fell below $2 within hours, while blockchain analysts reported that thousands of wallets had suffered losses. The launch turned a politically charged symbol into a cryptocurrency. Within the same day, its value had undergone an equally dramatic reversal.