Hunter Biden's Meme Coin Laptop Plummets 97.8% in First Hour

Hunter Biden's meme coin LAPTOP soared to around $200 shortly after its release before plummeting 97.8% within the first hour. The price later fell below $5, with approximately 80% of traders reportedly incurring losses. The token launched on Ethereum Layer-2 network Base on September 9.

The rapid price surge to nearly $200 was followed by a sharp sell-off within an hour, dropping below $5. The initial market cap surge did not reflect actual capital inflow, as the implied valuation showed billions but liquidity remained low. Liquidity refers to the amount of funds needed to absorb orders without causing significant price swings.

Nicolas Vaiman, CEO of Bubblemaps, noted that LAPTOP's token supply is 'extremely concentrated,' warning that large sell-offs by major holders could quickly destabilize prices. Bubblemaps reported over 15,000 wallets affected, with 80% of traders experiencing losses.

The project team attributed the sharp price movement to insufficient liquidity pools and 'sniper bots' during launch. They announced plans to inject 4 million LAPTOP tokens into an airdrop pool, representing 0.4% of total supply, to increase liquidity.

Hunter Biden described LAPTOP as a symbolic response to controversies surrounding him, emphasizing it represents 'resilience and redemption,' not an investment. He stated that neither he nor anyone else should expect the token's value to rise and noted plans to allocate some tokens to TRUMP coin investors who incurred losses from Donald Trump's meme coin.

Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers called LAPTOP a 'volatile' meme coin with no clear new supporters or perspective, highlighting how celebrity recognition and fast trading can drive short-term price spikes but also lead to crashes when liquidity is low and supply is concentrated.