Trump launch a cryptocurrency: A claim emerged in Chinese-language social media posts that U.S. President Donald Trump launched a cryptocurrency called “$POWER” following his inauguration on Jan. 20.

But the claim is false. The announcement about the cryptocurrency launch was made by a Trump fan account. Trump did launch a cryptocurrency called “$TRUMP” days before his inauguration.

The claim was shared in a report published by Chinese-language media outlet PANews on Jan. 21.

“President Donald Trump announced new official meme coin $POWER,” PANews reported, citing an X account.

A meme coin is a cryptocurrency that originated from an internet meme or has some other humorous characteristic.

Trump was inaugurated as the 47th U.S. president on Jan. 20, marking the beginning of his second term.

But the claim about the “$POWER” cryptocurrency is false.

The X account cited by PANews is in fact a Trump fan account.

The account’s description states it is unaffiliated with Trump’s official account and that it is sharing posts and media related to the president.

Both Trump and First Lady Melania Trump launched their crypto meme coins – named “$TRUMP” and “$MELANIA,” respectively, not “$POWER” – days before the inauguration.

Fake ‘official’ coins

In addition to “$POWER,” Trump’s fan account was found promoting fake “official coins” supposedly launched by the U.S. president, such as “$POTUS” and “$WIN” – both of which are also false claims.

Some users on X have stated that they had been scammed in connection with these fake coins. RFA/SP