Roger Stone, a long-time friend and former political advisor to Donald Trump, has officially denied any involvement of the former president or his son, Barron, in the DJT/USD Solana SOL/USD meme coin, which has recently stirred significant attention.
What Happened: The DJT meme coin, launched just a month ago, had been rumored to be an official project endorsed by Trump.
These rumors, although baseless, propelled the coin’s market cap to over $300 million at its peak.
It was later revealed that the token was actually created by Martin Shkreli, who claimed collaboration with 18-year-old Barron Trump.
As speculation continued, Stone took to Twitter to clear the air, stating, “[Donald Trump] and son Barron NOT involved in any way with DJT.”
This clarification came shortly after Shkreli had participated in a Twitter Spaces session, asserting that Barron was indeed involved.
Shkreli, known as “Pharma Bro,” stated during the session, “We did this on [Barron's] computer. He ran the programs. We spoke every day for 10 hours a day for the last week.”
He also mentioned consulting with crypto influencer Ansem about the distribution of the tokens, originally proposing 70% for Trump.
Ansem suggested this amount should be added to the liquidity pool instead, a decision that Shkreli eventually agreed was more strategic.
Also Read: Dogecoin Funding Rates Turn Negative As Short Sellers Eye Further Losses
Mario Nawfal, the host of the Twitter Spaces, shared these clips, prompting Stone's public denial.
This development raises questions about a recent bet Shkreli made with pseudonymous crypto trader GiganticRebirth (GCR).
Shkreli wagered $100 million that the DJT token had ties to the Trump family.
GCR stipulated that for Shkreli to win, Trump himself would need to confirm his involvement.
With Stone's denial, it seems GCR might win the bet, but neither Shkreli nor GCR have commented on the outcome.
Despite the controversy, the DJT token surged 15% to $0.01747 following Stone's tweet.
It has gained 87% in the past 24 hours, reaching a market cap of $175 million.
What’s Next: The rise of meme coins like DJT will be among the many topics discussed at Benzinga’s Future of Digital Assets event on Nov. 19.
This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Image created using artificial intelligence with Midjourney.
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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