One of the defining principles of old-school Conservatives in the UK and the US was “sound money”: maintaining the value of the currency, keeping inflation in check, and controlling the money supply. Under Thatcher, this was elevated into the main tool of economic policy—with disastrous consequences.
Modern right-wingers on both sides of the Atlantic have abandoned that principle. Instead, they’ve embraced cryptocurrency.
Trump even has his own memecoin.
Memecoins are cryptocurrencies inspired by internet memes or trends. They’re typically volatile, often worthless, but popular because of their cultural cachet and the promise of huge returns. Their appeal mirrors “meme stocks” like GameStop or Krispy Kreme, hyped by retail investors on platforms such as Reddit’s r/WallStreetBets.
When Trump returned to the White House, he launched $TRUMP, his own memecoin. Predictably, he made a fortune. The coin shot up to $75 after he announced “the most EXCLUSIVE INVITATION in the world”: dinner with the president at his Virginia golf club, reserved for the top 220 investors.
Since then, $TRUMP has slumped back to $9—an 88% collapse from its January high. Ordinary investors lost millions.
Melania launched $MELANIA, with similar results. It peaked at $8.50 before losing 98% of its value. A Financial Times investigation revealed traders made nearly $100 million by buying in minutes before the public announcement, then dumping after the spike.
The pattern echoes the NFT boom. Jack Dorsey’s first tweet once sold for £2.3m; today it’s worth about £1,000. Celebrities who shilled Bored Ape NFTs are now being sued.
The lesson? The same people conned by right-wing populists are being fleeced in the crypto casino. Memetic politics and memetic economics go hand in hand.
Trump isn’t alone. In the UK, Reform allows donors to give in crypto and wants to deregulate the market entirely—creating a sovereign crypto reserve and scrapping rules designed to stop illicit money flowing into politics.
Those rules, due to take effect in January 2026, would force crypto exchanges to collect users’ details and link transactions to HMRC tax records. They’d also limit the use of crypto for money laundering, crime, and undeclared foreign funding. Reform is promising to tear them up.
Why? Because crypto collapses the boundaries between legitimate financial flows and dark money. It’s a seamless way for oligarchs, dictators, and criminals to move their funds into the global system without going through London, Delaware, or Dubai.
And it’s no coincidence that Dubai—home of oligarch wealth and Reform treasurer Nick Candy’s fundraising tours—also bankrolls GB News.
This is the real reason Trump and Reform are so keen on crypto. It isn’t about innovation or freedom. It’s about joining the club of autocrats—Putin, Xi, and others—who use dark money to consolidate power.
Trump wants to be number one in that club. Farage just wants to sell himself, and Britain, to the highest bidder.
It’s enough to make you miss real Conservatives.
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