If reports about DJT are accurate, this would mark the first time a major party’s presidential candidate has created a cryptocurrency. However, this claim remains highly speculative.
DJT Token Soars on Trump Rumors
The DJT token, launched two months ago on the Solana blockchain, surged by up to 180% on Monday following an unconfirmed report suggesting former U.S. President Donald J. Trump is behind the cryptocurrency. If true, this would represent an unprecedented move by a major political figure.
Pirate Wires, a maverick media outlet, posted on X (formerly Twitter) that Trump is launching an official token, $DJT, on Solana. The report claims Trump’s son, Barron, is leading the project. Mike Solana, CMO of Founders Fund and editor-in-chief of Pirate Wires, shared a smart contract address linked to the token, which had a market capitalization of $177 million at the time of reporting.
Impact on PoliFi Tokens
Following the news, PoliFi tokens associated with Trump saw significant declines. According to CoinGecko, tokens such as Trump (down 30%) and Tremp (a hybrid of Trump and Donald Duck, down 40%) experienced substantial drops. The Joe Biden-themed Boden token also fell by 30%.
Steven Steele, marketing director of the PoliFi Trump token, expressed frustration, calling the situation a “greedy psy op” in a Telegram message to CoinDesk.
Skepticism and Market Reactions
Reactions within the crypto community were largely skeptical. Ryan Selkis, founder of data provider Messari and a Trump supporter, estimated a 50-50 chance of the token being legitimate. On Polymarket, a crypto-based prediction platform, bettors gave only a 7% probability of Trump launching a token by Friday.
Shkreli’s Denial
Crypto sleuths speculated about a connection between DJT and Martin Shkreli, noting that admins of the DJT Telegram group were also involved in a token supported by Shkreli. However, in an X space, Shkreli denied involvement but claimed to know that the token was an authentic project from Trump’s campaign and might soon be listed on exchanges.
“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.”
As of now, Trump’s campaign has not responded to requests for comment, and there has been no mention of the token on Trump’s TruthSocial platform.
