Vine co-founder announces meme coin named after now-defunct app: 'Let's relive the magic'

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The co-founder of Vine announced this week that he is launching a meme coin named after the now-defunct short-form video app.

Rus Yusupov, who co-founded the app with Dom Hofmann and Colin Kroll in 2012 before its discontinuation in 2017, shared an X post on Wednesday saying, "Remembering all the fun we had building Vine, Let’s relive the magic and DO IT FOR THE #VINECOIN."

To prove his account was not hacked, Yusupov posted a selfie of himself on X with the caption, "I haven’t posted a selfie in ages, but here. Not hacked! Just having fun." Newsweek reported that crypto enthusiasts and traders jumped on the coin, and within hours, the token's market capitalization surpassed $200 million. 

Around 11 a.m. EST on Friday, Vine Coin was trading for around 16 cents and had a market capitalization of $164 million, according to CoinMarketCap. Traders look at coins' market capitalization to determine their total value and stability.

Here is what to know about Vine and how the new token has become one of many meme coins that have recently gained traction among crypto traders.

Elon Musk hints at bringing back Vine

Days before Yusupov's announcement, Elon Musk, Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder, was tagged in an X post that included Vine's logo with the caption, "I think it's time to bring it back @elonmusk."

In response to the X post, Elon Musk said, "We’re looking into it." Additionally, Musk conducted a poll on X last April, in which nearly 70% of participating users voted in favor. Shortly after buying Twitter in October 2023, anonymous sources told Axios that Musk had instructed the company's engineers to start working on rebooting Vine.

Vine became one of the most popular social media platforms globally in its day, with 200 million active users during its peak in 2015, the Express Tribune reported.

Vine's quick popularity led to it being bought by Twitter, now known as X, in October 2012 for $30 million.

During Vine's decline in 2016, Yusupov shared an X post seemingly voicing his frustration over selling the company. The X post simply said, "Don’t sell your company!"

Vine Coin among other skyrocketing meme coins amid Trump's presidency

During Trump's 2024 campaign, he championed cryptocurrency and has promoted the use of it since taking office. Even Bitcoin (BTC), the world's largest cryptocurrency, hit a record high of $109,071 on Monday when Trump was sworn in as the 47th U.S. President but later dropped to $101,705.40.

Trump, who has promised to overhaul U.S. crypto policy, launched a Trump-branded meme coin last week. As of 12:40 p.m. ET Friday, the "Official Trump" coin is trading for around $33 and has a market capitalization of more than $6.7 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.

First Lady Melania Trump also recently launched the $MELANIA token that is trading for around $2.60 as of 12:40 p.m. EST with a market capitalization of more than $448 million, CoinMarketCap shows.

There have been concerns about whether the Trumps' coins are ethical or a conflict of interest. Eighty percent of $TRUMP coin's tokens are owned by CIC Digital, an affiliate of the president's business, and another entity called Fight, Fight, Fight, according to its website.

The companies said they are not investments or securities, but rather an "expression of support for, and engagement with, the ideals and beliefs embodied by the symbol '$TRUMP.'" On Thursday, the president ordered the creation of a cryptocurrency working group that would propose new digital asset regulations, thus signaling "a sea change in U.S. digital asset policy," Nathan McCauley, CEO and co-founder of crypto company Anchorage Digital, told Reuters.

Reuters contributed to this story.