Hunter Biden’s $LAPTOP meme coin lost approximately 98% of its value within minutes of launching Wednesday, leaving the vast majority of early participants with losses.

The token was named after the laptop scandal that has shadowed Biden in recent years. Biden said the symbol had come to represent “resilience, redemption and recovery” in his personal journey.

Biden announced the launch on X:

https://x.com/HunterBiden/status/2098264571110908392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

The initial trading session was marked by extreme volatility. The token rose from approximately $2.39 to as high as $316 on some exchanges before falling below $4. Alternative data sources placed its peak at about $190. Regardless of the precise high, the subsequent decline erased most of the token’s value within minutes.

Biden attributed the collapse to the project’s market maker, which he said provided only $5,000 in liquidity at launch despite substantial demand from buyers. Liquidity refers to the amount of trading capacity available to buy or sell an asset without causing a large change in its price. In a thinly traded market, even relatively small orders can therefore contribute to sharp price movements.

“There was a f–k up. The f–k-up occurred in the first 30 seconds of launching the coin,” Biden said in a video statement shared on X Friday.

At the height of the brief price spike, $LAPTOP’s theoretical fully diluted market capitalization reached $144 billion, according to CoinDesk. Fully diluted market capitalization is calculated using the token’s price and the total potential token supply, making it a valuation estimate rather than a measure of money available to holders or a guarantee that the token could be sold at that price. The valuation was not supported by comparable liquidity. Biden said the token’s market capitalization temporarily exceeded BlackRock’s valuation, which he described as more than $175 billion. He compared the token’s price chart to “Mount Everest.”

One Trader Records a Large Gain

An unidentified trader turned approximately $250,000 into $1.18 million within minutes of the launch, according to analysis by blockchain intelligence firm Datavault AI. The transaction produced roughly $930,000 in gains before transaction fees.

The outcome was sharply different for another investor, who spent about $200,000 near the token’s peak and was left holding tokens worth approximately $2,000 after the collapse.

Blockchain analytics company Bubblemaps found that about 80% of participants lost money. More than 15,000 wallets recorded negative outcomes, with most individual losses below $1,000.

A smaller group of traders generated substantial profits. CryptoSlate reported that 88 wallets collectively made $5.6 million from the launch.

Biden Takes Responsibility

Biden said he had spent six months developing the project and had been involved in all aspects of its creation, including the token’s architecture and public presentation strategy. He also said that neither he nor his collaborators sold tokens during the launch.

According to Biden, team members were subject to a six-month lock-up period that prevented them from selling during the price surge.

“This is my f–king token,” Biden said. “At the end of the day, it’s my responsibility, and there was a f–k up.”

He said the team was taking steps to improve liquidity and trading activity. Biden did not announce a compensation plan for affected investors, but said he would remain involved with the project.

“I am in this to the end 100%, and I promise you that we’re gonna make it right,” he said.

The original report was published by Blockonomi.