Hunter Biden has publicly addressed the dramatic collapse of his cryptocurrency, the $LAPTOP meme coin, attributing the failure to a significant error during its launch. In a video posted to X, Biden stated that the project's market maker provided insufficient liquidity, leading to extreme price volatility that impacted most investors negatively.
"There was a f--k up. The f--k-up occurred in the first 30 seconds of launching the coin, in which the market maker, for some unknown goddamn reason, only put in $5,000 of liquidity," Biden explained. He described the initial demand as being "through the roof." This limited liquidity, he claimed, caused the price of $LAPTOP to surge from $2.39 to $316 per token before crashing precipitously.
Biden noted the coin's brief, spectacular price increase, humorously observing that its market capitalization was momentarily "larger than the market cap of f--kin’ goddamn Blackrock." He likened the price chart to "Mount Everest."
According to blockchain analysis by Datavault AI, a single mystery trader converted approximately $250,000 into $1.18 million shortly after the launch, realizing a profit of nearly $930,000. Meanwhile, an estimated 80% of investors, representing over 15,000 wallets, experienced losses, as reported by blockchain analytics firm Bubblemaps.
One stark example highlighted by Datavault AI involved a buyer who invested around $200,000 near the coin's peak, only to see their holdings dwindle to approximately $2,000 after the collapse. Biden did not directly address these specific investor outcomes in his statement.
Biden asserted his deep involvement in the creation of the token, stating, "I’ve been working on this thing for six months straight." He added, "I was intimately involved in every single discussion, every single step of the way in creating the tokenomics, in creating the way in which the coin would be presented." Ultimately, he accepted responsibility, stating, "At the end of the day, it’s my responsibility, and there was a f--k-up."
Despite the damage, Biden vowed to remain committed to the project. "I am in this to the end 100%, and I promise you is that we’re gonna make it right," he said, though he did not elaborate on how investors would be compensated or how the situation would be rectified. He indicated that the project is working to increase liquidity and trading volume.
Joni Zhuleku, co-founder and head of research at crypto investment firm Altcoin Pro, found Biden's explanation for the price surge plausible, citing the $5,000 liquidity figure as exceptionally thin. "The quoted price is just the price of what the last trade went through the pool," Zhuleku explained. "The last trade can be tiny and still move the price enormously if there’s only five thousand dollars in there." However, Zhuleku also noted that the coin's current price, down 99% from its all-time high, suggests the situation is not yet under control.
Biden pushed back against comparisons to celebrity tokens, stating, "This isn’t some bulls–t f–king celebrity token where I get on Twitter and say, ‘Oh, I didn’t know about this, and, you know, I’m really sorry.'" He also maintained that he and his partners had not profited from the venture, citing a six-month lock-in period before any sales could occur.