Biden's son issues token: What is $LAPTOP? How to buy it and how to claim airdrop? Understand it all in one article.

CoinW Research Institute

On September 9, the cryptocurrency market welcomed a politically charged Memecoin. Hunter Biden, son of former U.S. President Joe Biden, announced the launch of the token ＄LAPTOP, which officially went live on the Base network on September 9. The token's name is derived from the controversial “Hunter Biden Laptop” incident that generated significant debate during the 2020 U.S. election. On September 7, Hunter Biden himself teased the release with the announcement “＄LAPTOP September 9” on X, and media outlets subsequently confirmed the related issuance information. Thus, this is not a typical instance of a token being launched under the Biden name. Hunter Biden himself was indeed involved in the launch of ＄LAPTOP. Interestingly, the first round of airdrops even allocated a portion of tokens to users who had previously lost money on related Memecoins like Trump’s ＄TRUMP. The combination of political figures, historical controversy, Trump, Memecoin, and airdrops in a single project also garnered substantial market attention for ＄LAPTOP before its official launch.

1. ＄LAPTOP Debut: A Political Meme Experiment Surrounding Hunter Biden

＄LAPTOP is essentially a Memecoin. According to the official project disclosure, ＄LAPTOP is primarily for entertainment and community participation and does not grant holders any company equity, ownership, or other economic rights. Buying ＄LAPTOP does not mean that one is investing in Hunter Biden's company, nor does it provide any rights similar to stock dividends. Its market value is more derived from Hunter Biden himself, the “Laptop incident,” and the attention cultivated by U.S. political culture. ＄LAPTOP is deployed on the Base network launched by Coinbase, using the ERC-20 standard, with a fixed total supply of 1 billion tokens. The founding team holds 30%, reality event prediction mechanisms hold 30%, the first-day airdrop is 10%, future community airdrops account for 10%, liquidity is 10%, the foundation treasury holds 5%, and charitable purposes account for 5%. Upon launch, it is expected that 35%, or 350 million LAPTOP tokens, will be unlocked, with the total supply gradually unlocked over 36 months. The 30% held by the founding team will not immediately enter the market; these tokens will first be locked for 6 months and then unlocked gradually thereafter.

Figure 1. Source: https://www.laptoptoken.com

2. Who Can Claim the ＄LAPTOP Airdrop? How to Claim?

The airdrop is one of the most closely watched features of the ＄LAPTOP issuance. The official token economic model shows that 20% of the total supply, or 200 million LAPTOP, will be used for the airdrop, but it will not be distributed all at once. The first-day airdrop accounts for 10% of the total supply, or 100 million LAPTOP. According to the latest airdrop plan released on September 9, 2% will be allocated to eligible users who suffered losses in related Memecoins like ＄TRUMP, and these tokens will be distributed through participating trading platforms and other channels, with specific eligibility determined by the partners; an additional 8% will be allocated to eligible users who have subscribed to Hunter Biden's Substack by September 6, 2026. The remaining 10% will be reserved for future community airdrops, with the specific distribution method to be determined by the Phoenix Veritas Foundation later.

In other words, if users have not subscribed to Hunter Biden's Substack previously, nor belong to the specified group of users suffering losses from related Memecoins like ＄TRUMP, completing some online tasks at the last minute does not guarantee receiving the first-day airdrop. This first round of airdrops is more focused on specific users who already meet the criteria, rather than the traditional “complete tasks to receive airdrops.” According to current information released, the airdrop claim portal is scheduled to open at 8:00 AM Eastern Time on September 9, which corresponds to 8:00 PM Beijing time on September 9, with a 30-day claim window. The official also stated that tokens from the first day’s airdrop that go unclaimed after the deadline will be destroyed.

As of the time of writing this article, the “Claim the airdrop” section on the official ＄LAPTOP website still shows “Coming soon.” Therefore, it is crucial for eligible users to wait for the official portal to open rather than searching for so-called “LAPTOP Claim websites” in advance. Once it opens, users can access the claim page from the official ＄LAPTOP website, verify their eligibility as per the page instructions, and complete the claim. This is particularly important. Popular airdrops often see phishing websites being most active right before and after the launch, and any site that asks users to input mnemonic phrases or private keys should not be interacted with. Normal on-chain airdrop claims do not require users to provide wallet private keys or mnemonic phrases to any website.

Figure 2. Source: https://www.laptoptoken.com

3. How to Buy ＄LAPTOP? First, Don't Buy the Wrong Token

For users who do not qualify for the airdrop but wish to trade ＄LAPTOP after it launches, the first step is not to rush to buy but to first confirm that they have found the official token. ＄LAPTOP is deployed on the Base network, and the contract address disclosed on the project’s official website is:

0xB095274743941e953c746F9C228DA9c18Bb6ec29

Project names, icons, and popular trading tags can be imitated; thus, the contract address is one of the most crucial pieces of information to verify a token's identity. After Hunter Biden announced the coin, the market quickly saw multiple tokens with the same name, including “Hunter Biden's Laptop” that was deployed on Solana as early as 2024, and other copies on different networks. Bitquery Investigation indicates that at least 351 contracts using the LAPTOP code have appeared on Base, BNB Chain, and Ethereum, with other tokens of the same name present on various networks. Even if the prices of these tokens rise rapidly due to hot news, it does not mean they are the official ＄LAPTOP being launched by Hunter Biden. As of the time this article was composed, the official purchase button on the website still shows “Coming soon.” Potential purchase channels listed in the official FAQ include fomo.family and Pump, but ultimately it should be confirmed through the official entry published on the website after the official launch.

Once trading opens, purchasing through on-chain operation is not complicated. Users first need to prepare a wallet that supports the Base network and keep a small amount of ETH in the wallet to pay on-chain transaction fees; then enter the officially disclosed trading portal from the ＄LAPTOP website, and confirm the token through the contract address. Before executing the trade, users should also check the liquidity size, price slippage, and expected received number of tokens, and only complete the exchange if everything is correct. For the first-time trading of a recently launched Memecoin, making small test purchases is usually more prudent than investing a large amount at once. Users can first try buying a small amount and confirm that the tokens can be sold normally before deciding whether to continue participating. Moreover, do not enter mnemonic phrases or private keys on unknown websites, and be cautious about granting infinite asset usage permissions to unfamiliar contracts.

4. Binding 30% of Supply to Real-World Events, Writing Prediction Mechanisms into Tokenomics

Besides the name Hunter Biden, the unique aspect of ＄LAPTOP lies in its designed mechanism that ties its tokens to real-world events. 30% of the total supply, or 300 million LAPTOP tokens, are included in the “Predictions” section linked to the outcomes of 30 real-world events. If a specified event ultimately occurs in accordance with the project setting, the corresponding LAPTOP will be permanently destroyed; if it does not occur, the corresponding tokens will be donated to charity according to the project rules. These events themselves also carry a sense of “Meme.” Currently disclosed conditions include Bitcoin hitting a new all-time high, the Democrats winning the 2028 U.S. presidential election, and LAPTOP's fully diluted valuation exceeding that of TRUMP, among others. It’s somewhat like merging the “prediction market” with the token burn mechanism of Memecoin. What happens in the real world will directly impact how many LAPTOP tokens are destroyed in the future. However, it should be noted that destroying tokens means a reduction in supply and does not guarantee that the price will rise. The final price of Memecoin still depends on the actual demand from buyers and sellers in the market.

Figure 3. Source: https://www.laptoptoken.com

5. The Core Asset of Political Memes: Attention, Not Technology

From DOGE to celebrity Memecoins, Memecoins have increasingly been linked to figures and events in the real world. ＄LAPTOP actually takes this route a step further. It requires almost no storytelling from scratch. The “Hunter Biden Laptop” itself is a highly disseminated event in U.S. politics over the past few years, and Hunter Biden’s decision to turn this label directly into a token translates an existing political topic into on-chain assets. An even more shareable design is its proactive engagement with Trump-related users in its narrative. The first-day airdrop allocates 2% of the total supply to eligible users suffering losses from related Memecoins like ＄TRUMP, effectively extending the political standoff of “Biden vs. Trump” into the Memecoin market. Therefore, what ＄LAPTOP is genuinely competing for in the short term is not the tech-savvy audience, but attention. As long as Hunter Biden, Trump, American politics, or related memes continue to generate topics, ＄LAPTOP may gain additional exposure. But attention can quickly elevate Memecoin and can just as rapidly fade away, which is precisely its greatest opportunity and also its biggest risk.

6. Risks and Controversies: The Other Side of High Heat

First is the risk of fake coins and phishing. Prior to the official opening of trading, there have already been numerous assets with the same name appearing in the market. For ordinary users, it is crucial to distinguish the official contract address deployed on the Base network. Particularly around the time the airdrop is open, users should not enter the Claim page through unfamiliar X accounts, Telegram groups, or search engine advertisements, nor should they input private keys and mnemonic phrases to any website.

Secondly, ＄LAPTOP does not possess the traditional fundamental valuation anchor. The project has clearly stated that it is a Memecoin meant for entertainment and community participation, and does not represent equity, ownership, or other economic rights; the price of this digital asset may even drop to zero. Therefore, how far the price of LAPTOP can ultimately go greatly depends on the topics related to Hunter Biden and market sentiment rather than on business income, profit, or protocol cash flows.

Token distribution also requires attention. The founding team holds 30% of the total supply, and although this portion of tokens is subject to a 6-month locking period and subsequent unlocking arrangements, it will gradually enter circulation as time passes. Meanwhile, the first-day airdrop itself accounts for 10% of the total supply, and some users who receive airdropped tokens may have a lower cost basis, potentially creating selling pressure early on.

At the same time, Hunter Biden's financial situation is also a reason why this coin issuance has sparked controversy. According to previous interviews and media reports, Hunter Biden has incurred high legal fees in recent years, and has stated that his related debt burden is approximately between $14 million and $17 million. His former law firm, Winston & Strawn, has also sued him for unpaid legal fees. When discussing his entry into crypto, Hunter Biden has expressed interest in the technology but also hope to profit from it.

However, there is currently no evidence that the release income from ＄LAPTOP will directly be used to repay Hunter Biden's personal debts, so it cannot be simply understood as "issuing coins to pay off debts." The truly concerning factor is that, with the founding team holding 30% of the tokens, Hunter Biden's personal financial pressure may further heighten market worries about the team’s economic incentives and future selling pressure. For Memecoins lacking a fundamental valuation anchor, it is worth observing how the subsequent team tokens unlock, whether large transfers occur, and whether core participants can continue to engage with the project.

Finally, this is also the most common issue with Memecoins. Although they may be hot at launch, it does not guarantee that the price can be maintained long-term. ＄TRUMP is a very clear example of this. After its launch in 2025, it briefly surged to nearly $75, but recently the price has dropped to around $2. Political figures can bring significant initial traffic to Memecoins but do not ensure that this traffic will ultimately convert into long-term holding demand.

7. After the Hype: Several Indicators to Test the True Demand for ＄LAPTOP

＄LAPTOP already possesses strong viral potential, but whether the effect of political celebrities can convert into sustained value is still unanswered. After launch, key observations can include initial liquidity, the number of real traders, the ratio of the top ten addresses holding the tokens, and whether the addresses of the founders, foundation, and prediction reserves are locked according to disclosed rules. For the airdrop, actual claim numbers, token concentration, and whether unclaimed tokens are destroyed after 30 days should be examined. If trading is primarily from a small number of addresses and automated bots, or if project-associated addresses frequently transfer tokens to the market, the apparent high trading volume needs a cautious interpretation. ＄LAPTOP may become one of the hottest Memecoins today, but for ordinary users, it is important to distinguish between “having hype” and “having long-term value,” which are not the same thing. If users only wish to participate in the hype, confirming the official contract, controlling position size, and avoiding chasing copies is far more important than speculating on how much it could rise after launch.

This article is for market research and informational purposes only and does not constitute any investment or trading advice. Memecoin prices may fluctuate wildly and even lose value entirely.