Hunter Biden defends "laptop" meme token, Kraken deletes related promotional posts

Hunter Biden defended the LAPTOP token before it went online: 20% was used for community airdrops and 30% was pegged to forecasts.

Hunter Biden publicly defended the legitimacy of his memecoin called LAPTOP on the Base chain hours before the official launch of the project. He announced that 20% of the total project will be distributed through community airdrops, and another 30% will be used for prediction mechanisms in the fields of politics, cryptocurrency and culture.

Project Positioning and Dispute Response

The LAPTOP token aims to redefine the public narrative surrounding "laptop" incidents. Hunter Biden posted a post on Platform X (formerly Twitter) admitting doubts about the project and describing LAPTOP as an attempt to regain its voice. He wrote: "I understand this cynicism (cynicism/mistrust). After all, the concept has been severely abused by speculators."

Over the years,"Trump and his right-wing media have repeatedly asked,'Where is Hunter?' Here I am now. I remain awake, have been sober for seven years, and have a lot to say." In the article, he quoted previous reports from the Wall Street Journal on his launch of memein and used it as a starting point for his response.

Detailed explanation of supply allocation mechanism

LAPTOP plans to be launched on the Ethereum Layer 2 network Base developed by Coinbase, with a total supply of 1 billion tokens. Hunter Biden detailed the allocation structure of funds:

• Community allocation (20%):Some tokens will be targeted airdropped to wallet addresses that have suffered losses holding TRUMP tokens, as well as other groups that meet the project plan. Previously, the mailing lists of Hunter Biden Substack subscribers and video journalist Andrew Callaghan's Channel 5 appeared in the original distribution plan.
• Prediction mechanism (30%): This token is linked to the results of 30 predetermined political, cryptographic and cultural events. If a prediction comes true, the relevant token will be destroyed and permanently withdrawn from circulation; if the prediction is not realized, the token will be donated to charity. Events in the initial plan include the Democratic Party's victory in the 2028 U.S. presidential election, Bitcoin's record high, and LAPTOP's market value surpassing TRUMP.
• Founder share (30%): The founder team, including Hunter Biden, receives 30% of the supply. These tokens have lock-up periods and ownership restrictions. The initial structure stipulated that they were locked up for six months, and then gradually released over more than two years.
• Other purposes (20%): Reserve part for liquidity provision, exchange listing, legal fees, administrative and charitable purposes.

Criticism and comparison of TRUMP tokens

Hunter Biden used President Donald Trump's TRUMP memecoin as his main comparator, calling it a "scam" and pointing to the huge losses suffered by its holders. According to Nansen data, as of July 2026, nearly 989,000 wallet accounts that purchased TRUMP faced a combined unrealized loss of approximately US$3.81 billion.

TRUMP tokens soared to an all-time high of US$73.43 when they were launched on the eve of Trump's second inauguration in January 2025. However, as of August 13, 2026, the token price fell to an all-time low of $1.37, down approximately 98% from its peak. Although it briefly rebounded by 93% in August due to team-linked wallets transferring funds to OKX, it then fell sharply.

Trump's 2025 financial disclosure documents show that his revenue related to the TRUMP Memo authorization arrangement reached US$636 million, and total crypto-related revenue for the year exceeded US$1 billion. Public Citizen estimates that investors have lost at least $4.7 billion in Trump-linked crypto projects, including approximately $3.2 billion in losses related to TRUMP tokens.

By allocating tokens to loss-making TRUMP holders, LAPTOP directly includes competitors in its distribution model. Hunter Biden warned potential buyers that their participation should not be seen as a promise of guaranteed financial returns. "You shouldn't expect me or anyone else to add value to your tokens. LAPTOP is not just about having something, it's about expressing a position."

Industry boycott and platform attitude

LAPTOP's launch plan has encountered resistance from the beginning. Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken removed promotional social media posts after traders questioned why another political memecoin was being promoted. Kraken did not publicly confirm whether it had abandoned a potential listing plan, and the LAPTOP project said exchange listing information would be announced at the beginning of the transaction.

In addition, Andrew Callaghan also distanced himself from his Channel 5 project, stating that the channel has nothing to do with memocoins and does not believe that cryptocurrencies are a legitimate investment channel. Channel 5 stated that subscriber information was removed from the list before sending emails.

Jesse Pollak, founder of the Base Network, said that although Hunter Biden's project team had contacted them, the Base team "consciously decided" not to participate in the design or promotion of tokens. The decision reflects Base's previous controversy over creators and content tokens, with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong admitting in July that the network had "made a mistake" with content tokens. Currently, Coinbase has taken over Base App and shifted its focus to transactions, payments and other financial products.

From political controversy to rebranding

The name LAPTOP comes from a laptop left by Hunter Biden in a Delaware repair shop in 2019. Data from the device allegedly contained emails about his overseas business dealings, as well as photos, messages and videos related to his drug abuse behavior and private life. The material became the focus of political attacks, investigations and online memes in subsequent years.

Now, Hunter Biden has incorporated the incident into the identity and marketing of his encryption project, trying to control a topic that has been repeatedly used to attack him. As he said: "They turned the laptop into a weapon, and I turned it into a token."