Cryptos bearing the names of Trump family members soared this week before it became clear they had no official connection to anyone close to the president.

US President Donald Trump has been criticised for launching a meme-coin while saying he "doesn't know much" about the cryptocurrency. The digital coin called TRUMP appeared on his social media accounts ahead of his inauguration on Monday and quickly became one of the most valuable crypto coins.

Trump venturing into meme coins is perhaps not surprising, given his history of branding everything from sneakers to bibles. The first lady followed suit with a meme coin of her own ($Melania, which briefly outperformed her husband’s coin).