Hunter Biden’s $LAPTOP Memecoin Hits Base Sept. 9

Hunter Biden is launching $LAPTOP, a memecoin named after the laptop controversy that followed him through the 2020 election, on Base Wednesday.

What’s the scoop?

• Hunter Goes Onchain: Biden confirmed the launch Monday after the Wall Street Journal broke the news. $LAPTOP has a fixed 1B supply, with founders, including Biden, receiving 30%, 20% reserved for airdrops, 30% for its prediction mechanism, 10% for liquidity, and 5% each for treasury and charity. Around 35% unlocks at launch.
• Airdrops and Predictions: Of the 10% Day-1 airdrop, 2% is earmarked for users who lost money trading $TRUMP, while 8% goes to subscribers of Biden’s “Where’s Hunter?” Substack. Another 30% of supply is tied to real-world predictions, with tokens burned if specified outcomes occur and otherwise eventually donated to charity.
• Crypto Isn’t Amused: The announcement drew sharp backlash across Crypto Twitter, including criticism of Kraken after it promoted the token. Despite launching on Base, neither Base nor Coinbase endorsed the project. Jesse Pollak said Base declined to help with its design or amplification, stressing that Base is permissionless.
• Channel 5 Distances Itself: The WSJ initially reported an Andrew Callaghan-curated mailing list would qualify for the airdrop. Channel 5 responded that it had “nothing to do with” $LAPTOP, though it acknowledged providing Biden a mailing list to help expand his audience.