Trump to Launch Cryptocurrency Token

Is Donald Trump looking to further endear himself to the $2.5 trillion crypto industry with the launch of a new crypto token called “Trump Coin”? That’s the buzz according to crypto industry participants as Trump ramps up his campaign for the November presidential election. Industry experts are trying to figure out the origins of a meme token registered on the Solana blockchain platform under the symbol “DJT” and the name “Trump Coin.”

DJT is the stock symbol for Donald Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social. The stock itself has become a meme stock favorite since going public in March, with shares trading as high as $79.38 and currently around $35. Like meme stocks, meme tokens are influenced by internet trends and pop culture. Although some famous meme coins like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu were initially created as jokes, their popularity has driven the total meme coin market cap to a staggering $50 billion.

By launching on the Solana blockchain, Trump Coin will join other popular Solana-based meme coin projects like “Dogwifhat,” a token associated with a meme of a dog wearing a pink knitted hat; “Jeo Boden,” a satirical cartoon of President Biden; and “Mother Iggy,” a meme coin launched last month by Australian rapper Iggy Azalea.

According to blockchain explorer SolScan, the token began trading on Solana this evening, with the market cap currently sitting at $73 million.

FOX Business could not confirm if the token is directly or indirectly affiliated with Trump, but sources in the industry say people connected to the former president have been planning to launch a digital coin for at least two months. A spokesperson for the Trump campaign and Truth Social did not return requests for comment.

When asked about the Trump Coin launch, former GOP presidential candidate and adviser to President Trump, Vivek Ramaswamy, directed FOX Business to the Trump campaign but commented, “I’m glad President Trump and his campaign are leaning into crypto, including accepting it – he’s ahead of the curve. Embracing crypto will help Trump continue to bring libertarians and your not-typical Republicans into the fold – it’s a winning issue.”

Trump Coin is the latest of a handful of meme coins inspired by political candidates this election cycle. Other non-affiliated Trump meme tokens are trading in the crypto landscape, including one under the symbol MAGA, with a cartoon of Trump and an American flag. “MAGA” coin, operating under the ticker TRUMP, is currently the most popular political meme coin, trading at just over $9 with a market cap of over $400 million. The price of the token dropped on the news of the Trump Coin launch.

Another Trump-inspired meme coin trades under the letters TROG and features a cartoon of a frog wearing a MAGA hat. Much smaller compared to MAGA, it has a market cap of $7.38 million and also fell on the news of the Trump Coin launch.

Neither MAGA nor TROG are affiliated with Trump or his 2024 presidential campaign directly. However, according to blockchain research firm Arkham Intelligence, Trump owns a substantial number of MAGA and TROG tokens, gifted by the token creator. While Trump is not typically known as a crypto enthusiast, he has tapped into the industry as a potential source of voters as the November elections approach.

Around 52 million Americans have used crypto, according to a Coinbase study, and they are becoming increasingly politically active, working to elect crypto-friendly politicians. One such candidate is John Deaton, a crypto lawyer running as a Republican to unseat Massachusetts Democrat Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who is prominently anti-crypto. Trump, worth an estimated $6 billion, now has a crypto portfolio worth around $6 million, including his own NFT collection and holdings in MAGA coin and TROG coin.

The crypto vote could be pivotal in the coming presidential election, analysts say. Many industry participants regard themselves as single-issue voters, meaning they will vote solely based on which candidate is most crypto-friendly, regardless of other political views. Trump is targeting those voters with the help of advisers like Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur and crypto enthusiast advising Trump on digital asset policy.