Hunter Biden’s LAPTOP meme coin launched on Base on September 9, 2026, reaching $190.81 within two minutes before losing roughly 99% of its value within hours as limited liquidity met heavy selling.

The token is named after the personal computer that has followed Biden through U.S. political controversies since 2020. A Delaware repair shop turned the computer over in 2019, and the New York Post published material from it weeks before that year’s presidential election, triggering years of investigations and conspiracy theories. The New York Post previously reported on the laptop and its contents here.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the launch plans on September 7, 2026, in an article about Biden and the token. Biden confirmed the ticker several hours later in a post containing a short video of news outlets discussing the computer. The video ended with “$LAPTOP” in white type on a black background. He later elaborated on the token’s rationale.

For years, Trump and right-wing media have been asking, “Where’s Hunter? Where’s Hunter?” Well, here I am. Clear, strong, seven years sober, and with a lot to say. By now, you may have seen the article in the Wall Street Journal that I’m launching a meme coin called $LAPTOP .… — Hunter Biden (@HunterBiden) September 8, 2026

https://twitter.com/HunterBiden/status/2096975577727316327

What is LAPTOP?

LAPTOP is a token issued on Base, the layer-2 network Coinbase built on top of Ethereum in 2023. Layer-2 networks process transactions separately before posting them back to Ethereum, generally enabling lower fees and faster confirmations than transactions conducted directly on Ethereum. More background on Base is available from Decrypt, as is an explanation of Ethereum layer-2 networks and sidechains.

Meme coins do not represent claims on revenue, assets or governance. Their trading activity is generally driven by attention, and many fall sharply within hours or days of launch. The Wall Street Journal reported that Biden is part of LAPTOP’s founding team, rather than simply endorsing a token created by others. The team declined to comment to the newspaper.

How is the supply divided?

The project issued one billion LAPTOP tokens. Citing people familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal reported the following allocation:

• Founders, including Biden — 30%: The tokens are locked for six months and vest in full after two years.
• Airdrops — 20%: The tokens will be distributed in two batches to specified wallets.
• Conditional burn — 30%: The allocation depends on the outcomes of 30 preset events.
• Charity, liquidity and foundation — 20%: The allocation covers exchange partners, market makers, and the token foundation’s accounting, legal and compliance costs.

An airdrop is a free token distribution to wallets that meet specified criteria. Burning refers to sending tokens to an address that nobody controls, permanently removing them from circulation. Decrypt has provided additional background on airdrops and meme coins.

The burn conditions include a Democrat winning the 2028 presidential election, Bitcoin reaching another all-time high, and LAPTOP’s fully diluted valuation exceeding that of TRUMP. If an event does not resolve as specified, a proportional share of the tokens is instead allocated to charity. Biden has said that another 50 million tokens will go to charity regardless of how the conditions are resolved.

Who receives the airdrop?

One tranche is reserved for wallets that lost money on TRUMP, the meme coin launched by U.S. President Donald Trump in January 2025. TRUMP reached nearly $75 shortly after launch and traded at about $2.24 in September 2026, representing a decline of roughly 97%. Biden estimated that holders collectively lost close to $3.8 billion across nearly one million wallets. A token associated with first lady Melania Trump followed a similar trajectory.

The other eligible wallets belong to Biden’s Substack subscribers and people on a mailing list curated by video journalist Andrew Callaghan. Callaghan said in a statement that neither he nor his Channel 5 program was involved, adding that they “do not believe crypto is a legitimate investment.”

pic.twitter.com/Pva2aI1Gen — Channel 5 (@Channel5iveNews) September 7, 2026

https://twitter.com/Channel5iveNews/status/2097068561688940609

What happened when LAPTOP launched?

LAPTOP went live on Base at 8 a.m. ET on September 9, 2026. Blockchain intelligence firm Arkham recorded a peak price of $190.81 two minutes later. That price implied a fully diluted valuation of almost $144 billion, while the liquidity pool held only $48,000. A fully diluted valuation applies the token’s price to the entire stated supply, while a liquidity pool is the capital available for trades at that time; the two figures therefore describe different aspects of a token’s market. Arkham documented the launch in a post on X.

The disparity between the token’s implied valuation and available liquidity preceded a rapid decline. LAPTOP lost about 90% of its value within 30 minutes and traded near $4.77 one hour after launch. By that afternoon, it was changing hands at approximately $1.97, nearly 99% below its high, with a market capitalization of about $780 million.

The timing of trades resulted in sharply different outcomes for individual wallets. One wallet bought 9,124 LAPTOP at launch and sold the tokens minutes later for approximately $1.18 million. Another spent about $200,000 near the peak and held tokens worth less than $3,000 an hour later. Decrypt also reported on the token’s launch-day crash.

Biden had disclaimed responsibility for the token’s price the night before its launch. “You should not expect me or anyone else to make this token more valuable for you,” he wrote, describing the laptop as a symbol of recovery and the token as a way of expressing that idea. Responding to critics several hours later, he wrote that they had “PTSD from Trump, Melania, Kanye, Lil Pump, and Andrew Tate’s memecoins.” His post is available on X.

Who is Hunter Biden?

Biden, 56, is a disbarred former attorney and the surviving son of Joe Biden, the 46th U.S. president. A Delaware jury found him guilty of three felony firearm offenses in June 2024. In September of that year, he pleaded guilty to nine federal tax charges. His father pardoned him in December 2024, before he was sentenced in either case. The U.S. Department of Justice published the firearm case information here and the tax case information here.

Biden said on a podcast in November 2025 that he faced $17 million in legal-fee debt. His former law firm, Winston & Strawn, sued him in Washington, D.C., over unpaid bills. In an April 2026 filing, Biden’s attorney told the court that Biden “lives abroad” and could not afford to pay.

In a 2026 interview with Tucker Carlson, Biden explained his interest in crypto by saying he was interested in the technology and wanted “to make some money.”

Where to buy LAPTOP

Because LAPTOP trades on Base, it can be accessed through decentralized exchanges and wallets that support the network. Meme coin platform Pump.fun promoted the token before launch, advertising 0.1% trading fees in a tweet that was later deleted.

Within minutes of Biden’s announcement, tokens using the LAPTOP ticker appeared on several other networks. None was connected to the project. Traders should compare a token’s contract address with an official source before conducting a transaction.

What happens next for LAPTOP?

LAPTOP’s opening day followed the pattern associated with earlier political tokens. Celebrity meme coins can attract an initial wave of buyers regardless of their views about the person associated with the token. Activity can then weaken after that wave passes and insider allocations begin to unlock. Hailey Welch’s Hawk Tuah token reached a $491 million market capitalization before losing more than 90% of its value.

In a 2024 survey of the market, Decrypt argued that most meme coins go to zero quickly. The publication said limited liquidity is a factor and that token developers often extract liquidity rather than reinvesting it.

Several elements of LAPTOP’s design operate on longer timelines than its first trading day: the two-stage airdrop, the 30-event burn schedule and the founder-token lockup. The founder lock expires in March 2027.

Editor’s note: This story was originally published on September 8, 2026, and updated with details of the token’s launch on September 9, 2026.