- The Detroit pastor launched a memecoin after delivering a prayer at Donald Trump’s inauguration.
- Crypto observers are waiting for Trump to fulfil campaign promises.
Detroit preacher Reverend Lorenzo Sewell delivered a passionate benediction at Donald Trump’s inauguration as America’s 47th president.
Not long after, he turned his sights to more earthly pursuits: his crypto memecoin named after himself: Lorenzo.
“The crypto community was kind enough to send me Lorenzo, so I have permanently locked my tokens into a liquidity pool, so that I will never sell on the community but rather just earn fees as our token continues to flourish,” Sewell posted on X on Monday.
The Lorenzo memecoin has thus far failed to take off.
The token is down 93% from its $4.5 million market value peak in less than a day.
Crypto market participants were quick to pan Sewell’s involvement in the memecoin.
“Forgive him Satoshi, for he knows not what he says,” crypto analyst and podcaster Benjamin Cowell posted on X, referring to Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto.
Trump wooed crypto voters with promises of a regulatory landscape tailored to support their industry.
So far, they’ve gotten a bizarre memecoin spectacle from the Trump family to accompany the inauguration. Trump didn’t mention crypto during his inauguration speech, and the industry was absent from the raft of policies the president enacted on day one of his tenure.
Onchain data viewed by DL News suggests that early buyers and insiders with complex trading bots made millions from Trump’s memecoins. Meanwhile, many ordinary traders have been left with huge losses.
Not even the preacher’s memecoin fared any better.
Some traders did reap returns before the token crashed.
One trader cashed out $109,000 after betting $250 on Lorenzo, while another managed to scoop a $100,000 gain after investing $741 in the token.
But they were the lucky few ― memecoin traders who invested early and sold near the top of the token’s run.
Others weren’t so successful.
One investor lost $120,000 after they sold their tokens for almost half of their buying price.
Another big loss involved a trader who invested $87,000 to buy the pastor’s memecoin and ended up selling for $11,300 ― a $75,000 loss.
Crypto market movers
- Bitcoin has slid 2.9% over the past 24 hours to reach $104,506.
- Ethereum is down 1% over the same period to $3,295.
What we’re reading
- Inside the crypto portfolios of Trump’s cabinet picks ― DL News
- The biggest winners of the $TRUMP token launch ― Milk Road
- Trump Selects Caroline Pham as Acting CFTC Chair as Commission Votes Her In ― Unchained
- What you missed this week ― Milk Road
- Trump memecoin drops 25% as US president doesn’t mention crypto during inauguration speech ― DL News
Osato Avan-Nomayo is our Nigeria-based DeFi correspondent. He covers DeFi and tech. Got a tip? Please contact him at osato@dlnews.com.
