Hunter Biden, son of former American president Joe Biden, is set to launch a memecoin called LAPTOP on Base this Wednesday, featuring an airdrop especially aimed at investors who lost money o
Hunter Biden, son of former American president Joe Biden, is set to launch a memecoin called LAPTOP on Base this Wednesday, featuring an airdrop especially aimed at investors who lost money on Donald Trump’s TRUMP memecoin. But even before its first trade, the project is already facing strong criticism. Several figures mentioned around the launch have distanced themselves.
Hunter Biden confirmed the launch on X on September 7 with a particularly brief message: ” $LAPTOP, September 9 “. The project is to be deployed on Base, Coinbase’s network, with a total supply of one billion tokens, according to information published by the Wall Street Journal.
The founders, including Hunter Biden, will keep 30% of the tokens. These tokens will be locked for six months before being gradually unlocked over more than two years. The 20% reserved for airdrops will be distributed in two waves.
The first will target traders who lost money with the TRUMP memecoin. The second concerns Biden’s Substack subscribers as well as individuals on journalist Andrew Callaghan’s list, reports CoinDesk.
The choice of this target is far from accidental. TRUMP was worth about $2.25 on September 8, nearly 97% below its record high reached in January 2025. Its market capitalization briefly approached $15 billion at that time.
The LAPTOP project also plans to burn up to 30% of the supply under certain circumstances, notably in the event of a Democratic victory in 2028, a new all-time high for Bitcoin, or a valuation exceeding that of TRUMP. If these conditions are not met, the concerned tokens would be redistributed to charitable organizations.
Reputation fled before the product. Kraken removed a post presenting the project after a wave of negative reactions. Some users notably criticized the platform for promoting a new political memecoin.
However, this does not mean Kraken has ruled out a possible listing. Jordan Fish, known under the pseudonym Cobie and responsible for the Base app, reminded that a project can launch a token on the network without Coinbase’s approval. No partnership with LAPTOP exists, he specified.
Jesse Pollak, founder of Base, also stated that the memecoin team had contacted the network before its launch. However, Base chose not to participate in either its design or its promotion.
Andrew Callaghan also denied any link with LAPTOP to the Wall Street Journal. Channel 5, the media outlet he runs, is not involved in the project and does not consider cryptocurrencies as a legitimate investment.
The contrast with the launch of TRUMP in January 2025 is striking. Back then, there were many criticisms, but they did not prevent investors from flocking in. Nearly two years later, platforms seem much more cautious about associating their image with this type of project.
The reaction on X alone will not determine LAPTOP’s success. The token still faces the real test: its market debut.
Copies already bearing the name LAPTOP are circulating on several networks, including one present on Base since June. Without an official contract address, any LAPTOP token traded before the announced launch on September 9 should therefore be treated with utmost caution.
Initial volumes, the distribution of airdrops, and the attitude of platforms will help measure the real reception of the project. One thing is already clear: two years after the euphoria around political memecoins, the environment is much less favorable.
