President Donald Trump promised crypto investors he’d usher in an era of legitimacy for an industry that’s long been relegated to the financial wilderness — dismissed by some mainstream investors as an highly speculative bet at best or an elaborate Ponzi scheme at worst.

Industry players worry the success of the president’s meme coin will undermine the credibility they have worked hard to cultivate.

President Donald Trump’s goodwill in the cryptocurrency industry has taken a hit after he and his wife launched meme coins — a move critics say looks like an unseemly cash grab that undermines an effort to legitimize digital assets.

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have both have issued crypto meme coins that could earn them billions of dollars. The move is raising ethics concerns as the president promotes the cryptocurrency industry while experts say he's in a position to make determinations about it.

Donald Trump launched $TRUMP cryptocurrency, a meme coin, days before his inauguration. It quickly reached over $32 billion in value. Melania has now launched her own.

As Trump is sworn back into office on Monday, $TRUMP topped the market cap, bringing along optimism for the cryptocurrency industry.

Danielle Brian, head of the watchdog group Project On Government Oversight, said Trump's moves into crypto are concerning given the industry's loose oversight. Besides being "a bl