CoinDesk
Memecoin LAPTOP, launched by Hunter Biden earlier this week, fell as much as 98% from its opening level within hours of debut. The project team pointed at sniper bots and thin liquidity as the cause. According to blockchain data shared with CoinDesk by Nansen, the token recorded 46,675 buy transactions against just 16,038 sells in the first 24 hours, from 20,085 unique buyers and 8,714 unique sellers. One wallet had realized $171,000 in losses and was still sitting on roughly $27,900 in unrealized losses, while another that bought 28,400 LAPTOP without selling was down approximately $118,000.
Why it matters
The launch drew immediate hostility from crypto traders, several of whom publicly asked Biden to call it off before the token's public debut on Monday. Despite the warnings, 20,085 unique wallets piled in within the first 24 hours, drawn by the political headline value of a token named after the laptop Hunter Biden left at a Delaware repair shop in 2019. That device became a fixture of Republican attacks on his father through two election cycles, and Biden confirmed the token himself on X with the ticker and a montage of news anchors discussing it.
The mechanics of the collapse are familiar from the memecoin cycle. A token launches into thin liquidity, sniper bots buy within seconds of detection, the price spikes on the resulting demand, then reverses as soon as those bots rotate out. The team said LAPTOP launched at 5 cents into that dynamic and was never deep enough to absorb the rush.
Market impact
Nansen still put LAPTOP at roughly a $720 million market capitalization and a $2.1 billion fully diluted valuation even after the 98% drawdown. Those numbers flatter newly launched tokens because small trades in thin liquidity move the quoted price a long way, a dynamic that misleads unsophisticated buyers reading headline market caps.
The team's response is to add 4 million more LAPTOP tokens, equal to 0.4% of total supply, into Aerodrome liquidity pools beginning Sept. 10, alongside the existing 30% founders' allocation locked for six months and a further 30% tied to a predictions mechanism.
Frequently asked questions
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What is the LAPTOP token, and who launched it?
LAPTOP is a memecoin named after the laptop Hunter Biden left at a Delaware repair shop in 2019. Biden confirmed the token on X earlier this week with the ticker and a montage of news anchors discussing it.
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Why did the LAPTOP token drop 98%?
The project team blamed sniper bots, automated programs that buy new tokens within seconds of detection, and thin initial liquidity for the rapid spike and reversal that wiped out most of the token's opening value.
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How much did traders lose on LAPTOP?
According to Nansen data, one wallet had realized $171,000 in losses and was still sitting on roughly $27,900 in unrealized losses, while another that bought 28,400 LAPTOP without selling was down approximately $118,000.
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What is LAPTOP's response to the crash?
The team announced it would deploy an additional 4 million LAPTOP tokens, equal to 0.4% of total supply, into Aerodrome liquidity pools starting Sept. 10 to encourage deeper trading.
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Did insiders have an advantage in the LAPTOP launch?
The project says there was no presale and no allocations to investors, influencers, or key opinion leaders. Onchain data shows 46,675 buy transactions against 16,038 sells in the first 24 hours from 20,085 unique buyers, with most of those wallets still holding.
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