Hunter Biden is preparing to launch a memecoin named $LAPTOP, turning one of the most contentious episodes of the 2020 US election campaign into a cryptocurrency token. The coin is due to begin trading on Wednesday, September 9, on Base, the blockchain network developed by Coinbase. ([coindesk.com](https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/09/07/hunter-biden-is-launching-a-memecoin-named-after-his-laptop?utm_source=openai))
Biden announced the plan on X on Monday with a short video montage repeatedly invoking the word “laptop”, alongside the launch date and ticker. The name refers to the computer he left at a Delaware repair shop in 2019, an episode that later became a major political controversy involving his father, former president Joe Biden.
The token will have a fixed supply of one billion coins. Founders, including Hunter Biden, are expected to control 30 per cent of the supply, with those holdings locked for six months and released over more than two years, according to details reported by The Wall Street Journal. ([coindesk.com](https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/09/07/hunter-biden-is-launching-a-memecoin-named-after-his-laptop?utm_source=openai))
A further 20 per cent is earmarked for two free distributions. Among those eligible will be cryptocurrency wallets that lost money trading $TRUMP, the memecoin launched by President Donald Trump in January 2025, as well as subscribers to Biden’s Substack newsletter.
The distribution was also due to include people on a mailing list associated with video journalist Andrew Callaghan. However, Callaghan and his Channel 5 project have since distanced themselves from the launch, saying they had no involvement with the coin and did not consider cryptocurrency a legitimate investment. Callaghan later said the list had been removed before any promotional email was sent. ([coindesk.com](https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/09/08/crypto-traders-turn-on-hunter-biden-s-laptop-memecoin-before-it-even-launches?utm_source=openai))
Project details reported by cryptocurrency publications indicate that another 30 per cent of the supply could be destroyed depending on a series of political and market outcomes, including a Democratic victory in the 2028 presidential election, Bitcoin reaching a new record and $LAPTOP overtaking $TRUMP in value. ([coindesk.com](https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/09/07/hunter-biden-is-launching-a-memecoin-named-after-his-laptop?utm_source=openai))
The announcement has provoked a hostile response from cryptocurrency traders, many of whom accused Biden of copying the behaviour he had criticised in the Trump camp. One user wrote: “You criticize Trump for doing a scam then do one yourself.” Another said the launch had sent his reputation “back down the drain”.
Kraken, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, deleted a promotional post about the token after users questioned why it was advertising another politically linked coin. The exchange has not publicly confirmed whether it still intends to list $LAPTOP. ([coindesk.com](https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/09/08/crypto-traders-turn-on-hunter-biden-s-laptop-memecoin-before-it-even-launches?utm_source=openai))
Coinbase has also sought to separate itself from the project. Jesse Pollak, a senior executive associated with Base, said the network was permissionless but had not helped design or promote the token, according to reports. ([finance.yahoo.com](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/crypto/articles/hunter-biden-laptop-memecoin-hits-141013487.html?utm_source=openai))
Hunter Biden’s laptop became a central subject of political debate after he left the computer at a repair shop in Wilmington, Delaware, in April 2019. The FBI took possession of it months later, while material said to have come from the device was published during the final weeks of the 2020 presidential campaign.
The $LAPTOP project is the latest in a series of politically associated memecoins. Trump and first lady Melania Trump launched their own tokens in early 2025, while former New York mayor Eric Adams later announced a New York City-themed coin. Several such projects suffered steep falls after their launches, prompting accusations that insiders had sold large holdings at the expense of other investors.
