Billionaire and Cost Plus Drugs co-founder Mark Cuban floated the idea of creating a memecoin to fund payments on the US national debt.
On Jan. 21, Cuban said that if memecoins were “the way,” he might issue one similar to US President Donald Trump’s official memecoin. He said the token would have the same terms and release schedule as Trump’s, but all revenue would be directed toward paying down the US national debt.
Source: Mark Cuban
Cuban said the wallet address would be publicly posted for people to track. He added that those who enjoy gambling on meme-based tokens could contribute to paying off US debt. “If you want to gamble, gamble. But at least use it to make a dent in the US Debt,” he wrote.
Memecoins and the US government
Although the US government has been perceived as anti-crypto in recent years, the newly inaugurated president has shown interest in the crypto world. Apart from having official non-fungible token (NFT) projects, Trump has entered the memecoin space.
On Jan. 18, just days before the inauguration, Trump launched his official memecoin token, Official Trump (TRUMP). The token reached a market capitalization of $14.5 billion a day after its launch. However, it has since dropped by almost 50% from its peak and is now trading at around $38.56, according to CoinGecko.
Similarly, First Lady Melania Trump also entered the memecoin market with her Official Melania (MELANIA) token. The token achieved a market capitalization of $6 billion during its debut but has since fallen to about $680 million, according to CoinGecko.n.
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Can Cuban’s potential memecoin make a dent in the US Debt?
According to the US Treasury Department, the country’s national debt accumulated throughout its history is almost $36 trillion.
US national debt as of September 2024. Source: US Treasury
While Cuban’s remark may not be a serious proposal, it highlights the scale of the US debt challenge.
Even if Cuban’s potential memecoin performed as well as Trump’s token and retained its value when used to pay down the debt, the impact would be minimal. At best, it would reduce about 0.03% of the total national debt.
And as token values typically decrease when sold, the actual contribution to the debt would likely be even smaller.
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