Bots Drive 98% Crash, Traders Suffer Six-Figure Losses

Hunter Biden’s $LAPTOP memecoin blames bots and thin liquidity after a near-total debut crash

Hunter Biden’s politically themed memecoin, $LAPTOP, suffered an abrupt collapse shortly after it began trading, with reports describing a drawdown of roughly 96% to 99% within the first hour of launch.

According to disclosures cited in coverage of the debut, LAPTOP is presented as a digital collectible with no utility and provides no ownership rights, voting rights, yield, or profit-sharing. The token has a fixed supply of 1 billion, with 350 million circulating at launch. The Wall Street Journal reported that founders, including Biden, would hold 30% of the supply, locked for six months.

The project team attributed the chaotic opening to thin liquidity and the impact of automated traders, saying those dynamics distorted early price action. Separately, blockchain analytics referenced in the aftermath pointed to significant retail damage: Nansen data showed some early buyers sitting on six-figure losses following the token’s debut.

The launch took place on Base, the network built by Coinbase. The token’s branding references the long-running “Hunter Biden laptop” controversy that emerged during the 2020 U.S. election cycle, which later became a durable motif in online political discourse. The memecoin effectively extends that narrative into the fast-moving market for politically themed tokens.

The volatility also appeared to spill into the broader memecoin segment. Commentary around the launch described a wider sell-off in memecoins alongside the LAPTOP move, highlighting how highly reflexive liquidity can be in this corner of the market—particularly when attention-driven tokens are introduced and early trading is dominated by bots and low depth.

• What happened: LAPTOP fell roughly 96% to 99% shortly after trading began.
• What the team said: Thin liquidity and automated trading distorted the launch.
• Why it matters: The episode underscores how launch mechanics, low liquidity, and bots can produce extreme outcomes in memecoin markets, leaving early buyers exposed to rapid losses.