We have seen the continuous emergence of new categories in crypto over the years. Metaverse, NFT, AI, RWA, and now PolitFi. Politics has become more intertwined with crypto. Recently, discussions in the Turkish Grand National Assembly included pilot regions for Bitcoin payments and the costs of crypto mining, emphasizing that they are not created out of thin air. In the US, parties are also trying to attract crypto-friendly voters.
PolitFi Decline
The expected scenario was that the meme coin-like PolitFi category altcoins launched in the name of Trump and Biden could gain significant interest as the November elections approached. This PolitFi category, a mix of fan tokens and meme coins, consists of tokens representing politicians.
However, a significant loss is seen in this area before the November elections. According to CoinGecko data, the Solana-based Jeo Boden (BODEN) meme coin, a mix of Joe Biden and Donald Duck, dropped by 70% after the current US President’s poor debate performance. This is similar to fan tokens experiencing excessive sales after their team is eliminated from the championship race.
Future of PolitFi
The bad news is that despite Trump’s strong debate performance, Trump-themed tokens are also experiencing a decline. The largest Trump PoliFi token, TRUMP, fell by 10% daily and 34% weekly. The Boden alternative TREMP also saw a 10% daily and 37% weekly decline.
As predictions increase that Biden may withdraw from the race, the total contraction in the PolitFi category has reached 11%. Austin Freimuth, a research analyst at Messari, commented on the matter;
“Contrary to expectations, the top PolitFi memecoins did not show an increase after the June 27, 2024 Presidential debate.”
This could mean that tokens in this area may not receive as much interest as hoped as November approaches. Freimuth argues that the next big move in the PolitFi field will be Trump’s selection of a Vice President.
“This announcement could potentially trigger the creation of new memecoins related to the selected Vice President.”
The decline in Bitcoin prices may have also contributed to the losses over the past week. Many altcoins continue the day with losses exceeding 4%.
