“Trump Coin,” a cryptocurrency reportedly directly linked to members of the Trump campaign, continues causing havoc in the crypto space and has caused other Trump-related meme coins to sell off.
What Happened: “Per conversations, Trump is launching an official token — $DJT on Solana,” tweeted Pirate Wires, a media outlet known for its critical reporting and optimistic view of technology.
According to the report, Trump’s son Barron Trump is leading the project.
Mike Solana, the Chief Marketing Officer of venture capital firm Founders Fund and editor-in-chief of Pirate Wires, shared a smart contract address linked to the token, which boasted a market capitalization of $177 million at the time of reporting.
Mike Solana later clarified that he had not directly spoken with Trump and acknowledged the possibility that the Republican candidate could deny involvement.
“Just reporting what I know via sources,” Solana stated, noting that his name’s similarity to the blockchain is purely coincidental.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and there were no mentions of the token on Trump’s TruthSocial platform at the time of publication.
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Why It Matters: The crypto community has reacted skeptically to the news.
Ryan Selkis, founder of data provider Messari and a known Trump supporter, estimated a “50-50” chance of the token being legitimate or a scam.
On Polymarket, a crypto-based prediction platform, bettors see a 20% likelihood that Trump would launch a token by Friday.
In related developments, Crypto Twitter users linked the token to Martin Shkreli, a convicted pharmaceutical executive, by identifying that the admins of the DJT Telegram group were also associated with a token supported by Shkreli.
“I can confirm that this is an authentic Trump token. I’m familiar with the situation, but it’s not my token—it’s Trump’s. It’s up to you to decide what you believe, but I’m 100% certain it’s an official Trump token,” Shkreli stated. “It’s not my project. I can’t guarantee anything. I don’t speak for it.”
PoliFi tokens, which also bear Trump’s name, experienced significant declines.
According to CoinGecko data, the Trump token, the first PoliFi token with a market cap exceeding $370 million, dropped by 30%.
Another token, Tremp TREMP/USD, a hybrid of the former President and Donald Duck, fell over 40%, while the Joe Biden-themed Boden BODEN/USD token decreased by 30%.
What’s Next: For those seeking to understand the implications of such developments in the digital asset space, Benzinga’s Future of Digital Assets event on Nov. 19 will be a crucial gathering.
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This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Image: Shutterstock
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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