Hunter Biden’s newly launched $LAPTOP meme coin suffered a spectacular collapse shortly after trading began, leaving roughly 80% of participating wallets underwater while at least one unidentified trader reportedly made approximately $930,000 before transaction costs. The token, launched September 9 on the Base blockchain, briefly soared from an initial price around five cents to more than $200—and above $300 according to some market data—before losing roughly 98% to 99% of its peak value. Blockchain analysis showed one trader turning an approximately $250,000 position into about $1.18 million within minutes, while another buyer reportedly watched roughly $200,000 dwindle to only a few thousand dollars. The project’s team denied accusations of a “rug pull,” blaming thin initial liquidity and automated sniper bots for the extraordinary price distortion. The episode nevertheless raises fresh questions about celebrity and politically branded meme coins, where publicity, concentrated ownership and speculative trading can produce enormous gains for a handful of early participants while ordinary buyers absorb substantial losses.
Key Takeaways
- Roughly four out of five $LAPTOP traders were reportedly underwater following the token’s launch-day collapse, with blockchain analysis identifying more than 12,000 losing wallets.
- One unidentified trader reportedly invested approximately $250,000, acquired 9,124 tokens and quickly sold most of the position for approximately $1.18 million, producing a gain of roughly $930,000 before transaction costs.
- Biden’s team denies conducting a rug pull, saying founder tokens were locked and blaming the collapse on inadequate initial liquidity and automated sniper bots that drove the price dramatically higher before it crashed.
In-Depth
Hunter Biden’s $LAPTOP meme coin produced a spectacular boom-and-bust within minutes of its September 9 debut, illustrating the dangers of celebrity-driven cryptocurrency speculation. The token reportedly opened around five cents, rocketed above $200—and by some market feeds above $300—then surrendered roughly 98% to 99% of its peak value. Blockchain data indicated that about four out of five participating wallets were underwater after the collapse.
The most striking contrast came from individual trading results. One unidentified trader reportedly deployed roughly $250,000, acquired 9,124 tokens and quickly sold most of the position for about $1.18 million, generating approximately $930,000 before transaction costs. Another buyer who entered near the top reportedly watched a roughly $200,000 position shrink to only a few thousand dollars.
The project’s team rejects allegations that the collapse constituted a “rug pull.” It blamed inadequate initial liquidity and automated “sniper bots” that rapidly purchased tokens as trading opened, driving the price sharply higher before the market reversed. The team has also said founder allocations, including Biden’s share, are locked and that insiders did not dump tokens during the crash.
Those denials matter, because a catastrophic price decline alone does not establish fraud. Still, the episode underscores a basic problem with political and celebrity meme coins: prices can become detached from any measurable underlying value while a small number of sophisticated or exceptionally fast traders gain an enormous advantage. Whatever further blockchain analysis ultimately reveals, ordinary buyers received another expensive lesson in treating politically branded tokens as investments rather than speculation.
Sources
- https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/09/10/hunter-biden-s-laptop-blames-bots-after-98-crash-as-traders-rack-up-six-figure-losses
- https://www.theblock.co/news/markets/2026-09-09-hunter-biden-laptop-airdrops-briefly-worth-over-1-million-each-before-99-crash-414034
- https://www.theblock.co/news/defi/2026-09-10-hunter-bidens-laptop-sniper-bots-414095
- https://beincrypto.com/hunter-biden-laptop-coin-peak-collapse/