President-elect Donald Trump launched his own cryptocurrency on Friday, sparking a feverish buying that apparently sent its market capitalization soaring to several billion dollars.

In a message posted on his Truth Social platform and X, Trump unveiled the so-called meme coin, which is designed to capitalize on the popularity of a certain personality, movement or viral internet trend.

“My NEW Official Trump Meme is HERE! It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING!” he wrote.

Meme coins have no economic or transactional value and are often seen as a means of speculative trading.

“This Trump Meme celebrates a leader who doesn’t back down, no matter the odds,” the coin’s official site says.

In the hours following the overnight launch, the crypto community posed questions about the legitimacy of the $TRUMP coin, and its actual link to the president-elect, with some fearing a scam.

But the fact that the announcements came on Trump’s official social media channels seemed to reassure the market, as did the fact that Trump has used one of the companies behind the project, CIC Digital LLC, in the past to sell non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

By mid-morning on Saturday, the market capitalization for $TRUMP stood at nearly $6 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.com.

Neither Trump nor the company managing the launch, Fight Fight Fight LLC, offered details about how much he made from the initial batch of meme coins released.

The coin’s official site said 200 million meme coins were issued, with Fight Fight Fight saying an additional 800 million would be added over the next three years.

Formerly a cryptocurrency skeptic, the president-elect is now a convert and has become a champion of the concept.

Before this new announcement, Trump and his sons Donald Jr. and Eric started their own crypto venture – World Liberty Financial – and other members of the incoming administration have previously disclosed investments in and backing for cryptocurrencies.

Last summer, Trump spoke at a Bitcoin conference in Nashville, where he pledged to make America “the crypto capital of the planet” once back in the White House.

The meme coin is Trump’s latest merchandise push, which recently included a line of perfumes, colognes, watches and “President Donald J. Trump First Edition” silver coins selling for $100 each celebrating his election win.

He famously used a photo of him sitting next to first lady Dr. Jill Biden at the re-opening of Notre Dame Cathedral to promote the cologne line.

The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, has again approved the distribution of new kits and uniforms to NPF personnel in the rank-and-file cadre, reaffirming his commitment to improving officers’ welfare and boosting their morale.

This initiative underscores his vision of enhancing improved working conditions and professionalism within the force.

Spokesman of the police, ACP Muyiwa Adejobi, who made the disclosure, noted that the IGP expressed optimism that, with the approval of the 2025 budget, more welfare-focused projects will be implemented to further support officers in carrying out their duties effectively.

“The Nigeria Police Force remains dedicated to maintaining a well-equipped and motivated workforce for the safety and security of all Nigerians,” he said.

The Federal Government through the Presidential Tax Committee says it has no objection to the new “equitable” sharing formula for Value Added Tax (VAT) as proposed by the state governors.

This position was made known by the chairman of the presidential committee, Taiwo Oyedele, on Saturday.

Speaking as a guest on The Platform, an event organized by The Covenant Nation, Oyedele said arriving at a conclusion regarding such reforms anywhere in the world, needs to factor in technical inputs as well as political considerations.

Recall that state governors had earlier rejected the VAT-sharing formula of 20 percent based on equality, 60 percent based on derivation, and 20 percent based on population as proposed by the Oyedele-committee.

However, after a meeting with the committee, the governors, under the auspices of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), announced a new proposed revised formula of 50 percent based on equality, 30 percent on derivation, and 20 percent based on population.

Speaking on the development, Oyedele told the audience on Saturday that the proposal has been accepted.

“You also need to consider other things, including political considerations, and so once the governors proposed their formula for sharing the VAT revenue.

“We have no objections to that, because, at the end of the day, if you need to move one kilometre, you don’t have to move all of that at once; you can’t even jump one kilometre at once.

“Maybe sometimes you need to just move gradually. You know, you take a breather. You reflect, have more data, and then you move again,” he said.

The chairman of the presidential committee also gave assurances that the VAT-sharing formula will benefit all sectors of the economy.

He urged those still against the proposal to get familiar with the details as recommended by the committee.

“All sectors will be positively impacted, particularly agriculture and manufacturing, as well as industries generally.

“We also have a provision in those tax bills where we call them priority sectors. And there’s a priority sector incentive, you know, power generation, innovation.

“So I’ll say, even if you’re not going to look at everything in that bill, go and find that section where we have those sectors.

“It’s a pointer to you about where the government wants to redirect the incentive regime,” Oyedele added.