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Hunter Biden’s newly launched memecoin, LAPTOP, delivered one of the wildest debuts crypto has seen this year — a brief run to a $110 billion valuation followed by a near-total collapse within the same hour. The team behind it says predatory bots and thin liquidity are to blame, and they’re now scrambling to stabilize the token.
A Launch That Spiraled Fast
The Base-based token started trading Wednesday morning and shot past $300 per token within minutes, according to DexScreener data, before giving back nearly all of those gains just as quickly. By early Thursday, LAPTOP had settled around $0.84 — a staggering drop from its opening spike. Blockchain analytics firm Bubblemaps described the launch bluntly, noting that roughly 80% of traders ended up in the red, including a handful who lost six figures or more.
The project’s own Medium post pinned the chaos on so-called sniper bots exploiting the token’s initial $0.05 price and overwhelming the market maker’s liquidity before it could adjust. To address that, the team plans to release 4 million tokens — about 0.4% of total supply — into Aerodrome liquidity pools starting Wednesday at midnight UTC.
Airdrops, Burns, and a Prediction-Based Twist
LAPTOP’s tokenomics lean heavily on gimmicks tied to real-world events. Thirty percent of the billion-token supply is linked to a set of 30 predictions; when one resolves “yes,” the associated tokens are burned, and when it doesn’t, they go to charity instead. Two of those predictions have already resolved, triggering a burn of 10 million tokens — expected to trim circulating supply by roughly 1% in the token’s first week.
Substack subscribers who signed up before September 6 were eligible for free allocations of 4,276 tokens each — worth a theoretical $1.3 million at the token’s peak, though thin liquidity made cashing out anywhere near that price nearly impossible. Even after the crash, those allocations were still worth a few thousand dollars apiece.
Biden Pushes Back on Criticism
Biden has framed LAPTOP as a project about “resilience, redemption, and recovery,” and took a swipe at other political memecoins by setting aside 2% of supply for traders burned by the TRUMP token. After X suspended the project’s official account amid the launch chaos, Biden posted that he isn’t backing down, saying he’s “not going anywhere.” The team also pushed back on rumors of insider dealing, insisting there was no presale and no payments to crypto influencers.
What Comes Next
LAPTOP’s opening day is a familiar story in memecoin markets — explosive hype, thin liquidity, and most retail buyers left holding losses. Whether the team’s liquidity fix and burn mechanics can restore confidence, or whether LAPTOP becomes another cautionary tale, will likely become clear in the days ahead.
Disclaimer: The information in this article is for general purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. The author’s views are personal and may not reflect the views of Chain Affairs. Before making any investment decisions, you should always conduct your own research. Chain Affairs is not responsible for any financial losses.
