Hunter Biden blames liquidity failure for $LAPTOP token collapse
Hunter Biden blamed a botched market launch for the collapse of his $LAPTOP meme coin, which left about 80% of its initial traders with losses while a small number of wallets recorded large gains.The token, named after the laptop controversy involving Biden, surged immediately after trading began Wednesday before losing roughly 98% of its value. Price estimates vary by trading venue, but blockchain data showed $LAPTOP climbing above $190 within minutes and then falling below $4. Some feeds recorded an even higher peak. CoinDesk reported that the token’s theoretical fully diluted valuation briefly reached $144 billion despite having only $48,000 in supporting liquidity.“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. And the demand was through the roof,” Biden said in a video posted Friday.Blockchain analytics platform Bubblemaps found that nearly four out of five traders lost money. More than 15,000 wallets participated, although most individual losses were below $1,000. A much smaller group captured millions of dollars in combined profits, illustrating how gains from the launch were concentrated among early sellers. CryptoSlate reported that 88 wallets earned about $5.6 million.The episode demonstrates why quoted market capitalization can be deeply misleading when a token has little liquidity. A handful of trades can produce an enormous paper valuation even though investors could not sell the full token supply anywhere near that price. Thin markets also give automated trading bots and well-positioned buyers an advantage, increasing the danger for retail investors entering after an initial price spike.Biden accepted responsibility for the launch but said neither he nor his partners had profited. Project insiders’ token holdings were reportedly locked for six months, preventing them from selling during the initial surge.“This is my f--king token,” Biden said. “I’ve been working on this thing for six months straight.”“They got it under control, but not before the damage was done,” he added.Biden said the team would continue working on the project by increasing liquidity and trading activity, though he did not say whether investors would be compensated.“I am in this to the end 100%, and I promise you that we’re gonna make it right,” he said.Content provided by Seeking Alpha is intended for information purposes only, and that Seeking Alpha does not offer any personalist investment advice and is not a licensed securities dealer, broker, US investment adviser or investment bank.