What to Know:

• 1. A surprise White House post featuring Donald Trump as Halo’s Master Chief sent social media — and GameStop traders — into overdrive, fueling speculation of deeper ties between Trump’s circle and retail-favorite stocks.

• 2. Binance founder CZ’s presidential pardon restores a key link between Trump-aligned World Liberty Financial (WLFI) and global crypto liquidity, with WLFI’s trading volume spiking to $222 million.

• 3. GameStop’s parody “end of the console wars” post cleverly revived nostalgic gaming culture while amplifying retail investor attention — just as WLFI and meme-coin markets caught fire.

• 4. Meme coin Maxi Doge ($MAXI) has surged past $3.7 million in presale funding, with whales and retail traders alike viewing it as the next high-momentum play alongside $WLFI and $GME.

First, US President Donald Trump pardons Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ.

Next, Gamestop drops a mocking, press-release-style announcement declaring the end of the console wars.

Then, the White House (yes, that one) pushes a pic of Donald Trump as Halo’s Master Chief.

All fun and games, or is there something brewing underneath it all? In the wake of the tweets, $WLFI’s trading volume briefly spiked to $220M before falling back below $200M. Will CZ’s restoration push $WLFI even higher on the back of Trump’s support?

Time for a closer look at what’s going on, and why meme coin upstart Maxi Doge ($MAXI) could take off.

CZ + Binance + MGX = WLFI

It’s no secret that CZ had lobbied for the pardon for years. It’s also no secret that Binance has been a key player in negotiations between MGX – the Abu Dhabi-based investment company that sank $2B into USD1, World Liberty Financial’s stablecoin – and WLFI.

That deal probably generates significant amounts (around $50M per year) of income for World Liberty Financial based on yield from treasury notes.

Regardless of the gory details of the deal between MGX and WLFI, Binance’s role is clear. And now, with CZ cleared and a potential return to Binance possible, Trump’s World Liberty Financial has (re)gained an important ally.

But what about GameStop?

GameStop + Halo = Memes, Evolved

The original title for Halo – back in the halcyon days of 2004 – was ‘Halo: Combat Evolved.’ GameStop remembers those days and decided to remind everyone of them in a probably unserious press release on X.

Fair play on GameStop, which knows its memes and popular culture. The ‘PR’ jokingly refers to the end of the console wars, the decades-long competition over which company and console would launch the biggest games (and draw the most players).

Halo, released initially on Xbox, is finally arriving on PlayStation in 2026. Two decades+ later, but finally full circle.

Enter Donald Trump’s social media team at the White House, who saw an opportunity and took it:

Why the shout-out? That’s where the details end and the speculation begins:

• Could Barron Trump, whose stake in the World Liberty fortune probably amounts to nearly $150M, be looking for a new place to invest? Would GameStop work?

• Could GameStop seek further support from Trump’s White House?

• Is the move merely a distraction, taking away from the ongoing shutdown?

There’s no way to tell. Regardless, GameStop is honoring Halo, and then the White House’s response. However, as it sets up for the biggest crypto presales of 2025 to achieve immediate success, Max Doge.

Maxi Doge ($MAXI) – Lift, Pump, Repeat for Maximum Doge Gains

Barron Trump is 6’8” tall. He stands out in a crowd, just like Maxi Doge ($MAXI) intends to do in the $40B dog-themed meme coin market.

What is Maxi Doge? It’s a pure meme coin. No utility, no real-world application, no problem; it’s all about relentless marketing and the meme coin momentum shared with Maxi’s better-known sibling, Dogecoin ($DOGE).

Why would anyone look twice at $MAXI? Because while it’s a simple project, there’s a real vibe there. Over $3.7M has poured into the $MAXI presale, headlined by two major whale buys of $314K each.

The project supports the presale with a tokenomics structure that allocates a full 40% of available tokens to marketing opportunities. During the presale, investors can stake their purchases for an additional 80% APY. If that sounds like a win, you can learn how to buy and stake $MAXI with our guide.

Our price prediction for Maxi Doge suggests the token could potentially climb from $0.000265 to $0.0058, generating 2088% returns for investors who get in now.

To avoid missing out, check out the $MAXI presale page for the latest information.

What will CZ do now that he’s been pardoned? And where will WLFI go from here? The token is already up 10% for the week, with a 24-hour trading volume of around $176M; will it make further moves in the future?

Watch $MAXI, $GME, and $WLFI for more crypto craziness and potentially game-changing moves.

As always, do your own research – this isn’t financial advice.

Authored by Bogdan Patru for Bitcoinist — https://bitcoinist.com/white-house-gamestop-tweet-causes-wlfi-frenzy