TLDR
- DJT, a Solana-based token, rallied as much as 180% on Monday following an unconfirmed report from Pirate Wires that former U.S. president Donald Trump is behind the token.
- The report claimed that Trump’s son Barron is “spearheading” the project, but the Trump campaign has not confirmed or denied the claims.
- If the report is true, this would be the first time a presidential candidate from a major political party has created a cryptocurrency, but there is widespread skepticism about the legitimacy of the token.
- PoliFi tokens that share Trump’s name, such as TRUMP and TREMP, experienced significant drops in value following the DJT token rumors, with some supporters suggesting it may be a “greedy psy op.”
- Despite the doubts surrounding the DJT token’s connection to Trump, the token has seen a surge in trading activity and price, logging over $129 million in trading volume across more than 26,000 transactions in just 24 hours.
Rumors circulated on Monday that former U.S. president Donald Trump is behind a Solana-based token called DJT, causing the token’s price to rally as much as 180%.
The unconfirmed report, published by media outlet Pirate Wires, claimed that Trump is launching an official token and that his son Barron is “spearheading” the project.
Per conversations, Trump is launching an official token — $DJT on Solana. Barron spearheading.
— Pirate Wires (@PirateWires) June 17, 2024
If the report is true, this would mark the first time a presidential candidate from a major political party has created a cryptocurrency. However, the Trump campaign has not confirmed or denied the claims, leading to widespread skepticism about the legitimacy of the DJT token.
Mike Solana, the CMO of venture capital firm Founders Fund and editor-in-chief of Pirate Wires, shared a smart contract address for the DJT token, which had a market capitalization of $177 million at press time.
Solana later clarified that he “didn’t speak with Trump directly” and acknowledged the possibility of a rug pull or pivot from the Republican presidential candidate.
contract address, posting for visibility: HRw8mqK8N3ASKFKJGMJpy4FodwR3GKvCFKPDQNqUNuEP
— Mike Solana (@micsolana) June 17, 2024
The crypto community’s reactions to the report were largely skeptical, with Ryan Selkis, founder of data provider Messari and a vocal Trump supporter, giving 50-50 odds that the token is legit or an act of deceit.
On the crypto-based prediction market platform Polymarket, bettors gave only a 7% chance that Trump would launch a token by Friday.
PoliFi tokens that share Trump’s name experienced significant drops in value following the DJT token rumors.
The Trump token (TRUMP), which has a market cap of over $370 million, was down 30%, while the Tremp token (TREMP) dropped over 40%.
Steven Steele, marketing director of the PoliFi Trump token, suggested that the DJT token may be a “greedy psy op” targeting their project.
Some crypto Twitter users noticed a connection between the DJT token and convicted pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli, as the admins of the DJT Telegram group were also admins of a token supported by Shkreli.
However, Shkreli denied involvement in the token during a late-night X space, while claiming to know that it was an authentic project from the Trump campaign.
Despite the doubts surrounding the DJT token’s connection to Trump, the token has seen a surge in trading activity and price.
According to GeckoTerminal, the DJT token has logged over $129 million in trading volume across more than 26,000 transactions in just 24 hours, with its price frequently doubling, albeit remaining extremely volatile.
The potential role of crypto in the upcoming U.S. presidential election is drawing greater scrutiny, with Trump reportedly declaring that he would be a “crypto president” at a recent fundraiser in San Francisco. Meanwhile, current U.S. president Joe Biden is reportedly preparing to attend a Bitcoin roundtable next month.
