Hunter Biden’s laptop could be about to take on a new, more profitable meaning. The Wall Street Journal first reported Monday morning that Biden, who is the son of former president Joe Biden, was launching his own cryptocurrency. Shortly after, Biden posted “$LAPTOP” with a date of Sept. 9th on social media site X, along with a compilation video of outlets and Trump administration officials referencing the computer. Biden dropped off the laptop at a computer repair shop in Delaware in April 2019, which the FBI seized five months later. The laptop contained emails, documents, and financial records, along with explicit photos that appeared to show Biden with women in hotel rooms and Biden doing drugs. The laptop and its contents became a sensation, especially in Trump-friendly media outlets, in the run-up to the 2020 election. Hunter Biden’s lawyers have said the files were manipulated. Biden has been vocal on social media, Substack and podcasts recently about his public grievances, including the controversial laptop. “What they found was evidence of a man who suffered for a period of time from a severe addiction to crack cocaine and alcohol,” Biden wrote in a post on X in June. He went on to write that prosecutors did not find evidence pertaining to corruption or any crime beyond that related to drug use. Biden has also been outspoken about his support of digital currencies. He wrote on X that Congress needs “to truly understand the value and potential utility of cryptocurrency” and called “decentralized digital currency” the “inevitable future.” Biden is far from the first to launch his own cryptocurrency. U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump launched a pair of meme coins in advance of his return to office in January 2025 — and reaped $1 billion in gains, while most investors lost money. Investors tend to trade meme coins based on trends, novelty, or potential gains, and may not care about the risk. Biden’s cryptocurrency will trade on Base, which was created by Coinbase Global, according to the Journal report citing people familiar with the matter. Coinbase did not immediately return a CNN request for comment.
