Hunter Biden is launching a meme coin named after his notorious laptop on September 9, 2026, on Coinbase’s Base blockchain network. The project will mint one billion tokens, directing a portion of its supply to retail investors who lost money on Donald Trump’s digital currency.
The son of former President Joe Biden is stepping directly into the digital asset market with a politically charged token. According to reporting from the Wall Street Journal, the meme coin will trade under the ticker $LAPTOP on Base, an Ethereum layer-2 network created by Coinbase in 2023. Hunter Biden confirmed the upcoming release in a post on X featuring the text $LAPTOP. September 9,
accompanied by an image of the ticker.
Tokenomics, Airdrops, and the TRUMP Connection
The project will issue a total supply of one billion tokens, structured with distinct allotments for founders, liquidity, and airdrops. Founders, including Hunter Biden, will retain 30% of the token supply. These insider tokens are subject to a six-month lockup period followed by a gradual two-year vesting schedule designed to prevent an immediate market sell-off.
Another 20% of the supply is earmarked for a two-round airdrop campaign. Eligibility extends to subscribers of Hunter Biden’s Substack, members of a mailing list curated by video journalist Andrew Callaghan, and wallets belonging to traders who lost money on President Donald Trump’s $TRUMP token. Trump’s meme coin experienced a steep decline after its launch, trading around $2.27—nearly 97% below its January 2025 peak of $73.43.
According to a report by Democratic staff on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, nearly one million retail traders lost an estimated $3.8 billion on the Trump-linked token. Independent analyses place those losses between $3.2 billion and $4.5 billion. Meanwhile, entities tied to the Trump Organization—specifically CIC Digital and Fight Fight Fight LLC—controlled 80% of the original TRUMP supply under their own multi-year vesting schedules.
Burn Mechanisms and Political Triggers
The $LAPTOP project includes an unusual supply-reduction mechanism. Up to 30% of the total token supply could be permanently destroyed—or burned—if a series of 30 predetermined events occur. Among these conditions are Bitcoin reaching a new all-time high, a Democrat winning the presidency in 2028, and $LAPTOP eclipsing the fully diluted valuation of Trump’s meme coin.
If these specified criteria are not met within their designated timeframes, the corresponding tokens will be donated to charity rather than added to circulation. The remaining token allocations cover operational needs, including exchange liquidity, market makers, and a foundation established to manage legal, accounting, and administrative compliance costs.
From Political Flashpoint to Blockchain Asset
The coin’s title references the personal computer handed over to a Delaware repair shop in 2018. Contents from the laptop, detailing foreign business dealings and personal photographs, became a major political controversy weeks before the 2020 presidential election. Federal prosecutors later used the device as evidence during Hunter Biden’s 2024 trial, where an FBI agent testified that the serial number matched Apple records while defense attorneys argued the data had been altered.
Hunter Biden has recently embraced decentralized digital currencies, describing them in social media posts as an inevitable future.
His entry into the meme coin sector arrives amid broader public commentary directed at the Trump family’s financial ventures. Last month, he criticized World Liberty Financial, stating via X, The Trump family’s business, World Liberty Financial, is corruption at a scale we’ve never seen.
The announcement has drawn immediate commentary from financial analysts. Bloomberg crypto ETF commentator Eric Balchunas questioned the premise on social media, asking, Fighting rugging w more rugging? How does that work out mathematically?
Market observers note that meme coins carry significant financial risk due to a lack of intrinsic value. Furthermore, security experts warn that scammers frequently deploy fake tokens ahead of high-profile launches, making verified contract addresses critical for prospective buyers.
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