The TRUMP token, US President Donald Trump’s official memecoin, is down 5%, according to market data from CoinDesk, as Trump Mobile announced that the long-awaited T1 phone will begin shipping next week.
As CoinDesk previously reported, neither the Trump Mobile project nor the president’s memecoin have gone particularly well. The phone’s shipping dates have been repeatedly delayed (and customer support is limited), while the TRUMP token is down nearly 90%.
Another question is, what exactly is the T1 phone? Trump Mobile is a virtual mobile network operator and does not have the ability to design or manufacture its own phone. Instead, it has worked with an outside company to choose a phone and change its design to be Trump-themed. This type of accusation is common; Solana changed the design of the Osom OV-1 for its first Saga phone.
The Verge got its hands on one of the T1 Phones last month and concluded that it “sure looks a lot like an HTC U24,” a phone that came out in 2024.
It’s unclear exactly which company makes the Trump phone, as neither HTC nor Trump Mobile provided a response to The Verge. Trump Mobile has previously confirmed that its phones are ultimately assembled in the US but originate overseas.
For buyers, the shipping upgrade means that T1 can finally move from the concept of political merchandise to the shipped consumer product.
For TRUMP holders, the 5% drop suggests the market is treating the phone less as a catalyst and more as another Trump-branded product trying to prove there’s still demand after the first wave of hype.
