Hunter Biden plans to launch a meme coin named $LAPTOP on Coinbase’s Base network on September 9, 2026. The venture will distribute 20 percent of its supply to retail traders who lost money on President Donald Trump’s digital currency, while reserving nearly a third of the tokens for founding insiders.
The digital asset market is about to absorb a distinctly political token. The project is scheduled to go live on Base, an Ethereum layer-2 network built by Coinbase, with a total supply of 1 billion tokens.
The Laptop Scandal Reappears as a Token
The naming convention leans directly into history. The digital token references the computer that a Delaware repair shop handed over in 2019, as detailed by Decrypt. Contents from that machine were published by the New York Post just weeks before the 2020 presidential election, sparking a multi-year political flashpoint. Federal prosecutors later used the hardware in court proceedings against Biden in 2024, where an FBI agent verified serial numbers matching Apple records despite defense arguments regarding data alteration.
Biden has recently shifted toward public crypto advocacy.
Tokenomics, Insiders, and the Trump Airdrop
Under the project’s distribution plan, founders and insiders—including Hunter Biden—will hold 30 percent of the 1 billion supply, Coin Edition reported. These insider tokens are locked for six months before unlocking gradually across a two-year vesting schedule designed to prevent an immediate market dump.
Another 20 percent of the supply is earmarked for a two-round airdrop directed at specific wallets. Eligibility extends to subscribers of Biden’s Substack, members of video journalist Andrew Callaghan’s mailing list, and traders who registered losses on President Donald Trump’s $TRUMP meme coin. That digital asset has experienced a severe bearish correction, trading near $2.27—down roughly 97 percent from its January 2025 record high of $73.43—causing an estimated $3.8 billion in losses across nearly 1 million retail traders, according to a Senate subcommittee report.
The 30 Preset Burn Events and Market Realities
The project features an automated deflationary mechanism. Up to 30 percent of the token supply can be permanently destroyed—or “burned”—if a series of 30 predetermined milestones occur. Among the named triggers are a Democratic victory in the 2028 presidential election, Bitcoin reaching a new all-time high, or $LAPTOP eclipsing the fully diluted valuation of the $TRUMP token, according to detailed disclosures. Unmet targets will see their corresponding tokens redirected to charity.
Achieving those valuation targets presents steep mathematical hurdles. With $TRUMP sitting on a fully diluted valuation near $2.26 billion, $LAPTOP would need to reach approximately $2.26 per coin to match it, demanding a multiple of roughly 3.7 times its initial rollout scale. Observers have questioned the mechanics of the venture. Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas posted on social media, questioning the strategy.
“Fighting rugging w more rugging? How does that work out mathematically?”
Eric Balchunas, Bloomberg analyst
Regulatory Loopholes and Scam Warnings
The timing intersects with stalled legislative oversight. Congress has attempted to establish a standardized framework for digital assets via the Clarity Act, which includes provisions designed to restrict elected officials and their families from profiting off cryptocurrency ventures.
Security analysts warn retail participants to exercise caution.
