*

Trump meme coin soars in value

*

Launches raise regulatory and ethical concerns, analysts

say

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Trump company says Trump won't be involved in family

businesses

*

Bitcoin's price rallies, sets record

(Updates throughout, adds new quote in paragraphs 6-7)

By Elizabeth Howcroft, Rae Wee and Michelle Conlin

PARIS/SINGAPORE, Jan 20 (Reuters) - U.S. President

Donald Trump's new crypto token soared to more than $10 billion

in market value on Monday, while enthusiasm over his

crypto-friendly administration helped briefly lift bitcoin to a

new record.

Launched Friday night, Trump's so-called "memecoin" surged

from less than $10 on Saturday morning to as high as $74.59

before giving up some of its gains on Monday. The token, branded

$TRUMP and criticized by ethics experts, was last trading at

$32.64, according to cryptocurrency price tracker CoinGecko.

World Liberty Financial, a separate Trump-linked crypto

project, also announced on Monday that it had completed an

initial token sale, raising $300 million, and would look to

issue additional tokens.

The expansion of Trump's crypto interests comes as his

administration is widely expected to usher in a "golden age" for

cryptocurrencies, in stark contrast to the regulatory scrutiny

the industry experienced under former President Joe Biden.

Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency, hit a

new record of $109,071 on inauguration day when Trump was

sworn-in as the 47th U.S. President, but later pared those gains

and was last trading at $103,017.68.

"I think in the short term there's a chance this could be a

sell the news event," said Matthew Dibb, chief investment

officer at crypto asset manager Astronaut Capital.

"Bitcoin has already retreated.... We are expecting further

volatility here and likely a selloff."

The Trump and Melania cryptocurrencies, the latter which was

launched on Sunday, were created on the Solana blockchain.

The price of Solana's coin also rose over the weekend,

hitting an all-time high of $294.33 on Sunday.

"The cryptocurrency market gained additional popularity in

recent hours due to the launch of the TRUMP and MELANIA

cryptocurrencies just before the inauguration," said Grzegorz

Drozdz, market analyst at Conotoxia Ltd, in a statement.

Eighty percent of Trump coin's tokens are owned by CIC

Digital, an affiliate of Trump's business, and another entity

called Fight, Fight, Fight, according to its website.

It says the coins are "an expression of support for, and

engagement with, the ideals and beliefs embodied by the symbol

'$TRUMP'" and are not an investment or security.

The launch of World Liberty Financial just two months before

November's U.S. election caused concern over ethics and

conflicts of interest. The launch of Trump's "memecoin" on

Friday night also raised red flags, even among those in the

cryptocurrency industry. Several key figures in Trump's

administration and his circles have ties to the crypto industry.

"While it's tempting to dismiss this as just another Trump

spectacle, the launch of the official Trump token opens up a

Pandora's box of ethical and regulatory questions," said Justin

D'Anethan, an independent crypto analyst based in Hong Kong.

The Trump Organization said this month the president would

hand daily management of his multi-billion-dollar real estate,

hotel, golf, media and licensing portfolio to his children when

he entered the White House. Trump's net worth is estimated by

Forbes at $6.7 billion, although that does not include his

crypto ventures.

SPECULATIVE ASSETS

Excitement over expected executive orders, and other policy

actions, that could kick start a sea change in U.S.

cryptocurrency policy have helped turbocharge crypto prices in

recent months -- although Trump did not announce any new

policies on Monday as many in the industry had hoped for.

"The market has some great expectations about a bitcoin

strategic reserve and a loosening of regulations around digital

assets, but it's more likely these developments will be drip fed

over a series of months rather than days," said Dibb.

The huge rise in the new coin prices prompted concern among

some analysts.

"Meme cryptocurrencies, like these, are prone to large

fluctuations and we generally consider them as speculative

assets," Drozdz at Conotoxia said.

Trump's coin represented a blending of the world of digital

assets into the political arena, but it also "blurs the lines

between governance, profit and influence," D'Anethan said.

(Additional reporting by Vidya Ranganathan and Tom Westbrook in

Singapore, Tommy Reggiori Wilkes and Tom Wilson in London and

Hannah Lang and Michelle Conlin in New York; Editing by

Muralikumar Anantharaman, Shri Navaratnam, Louise Heavens, Alex

Richardson, Rod Nickel, Megan Davies, David Gregorio and Deepa

Babington)