There’s no official confirmation about whether DJT on Solana is linked to Donald Trump’s campaign — but there are several reasons why the former president might be tempted.
Donald Trump has railed against central bank digital currencies, opened the door to accepting crypto donations, and even called for all remaining Bitcoin to be mined in the U.S.
But there’s another rumor doing the rounds that has really got the crypto community into a spin: whether or not the Republican nominee is launching his own token.
For some time now, there’s been a flurry of memecoins inspired by the presidential campaign. Perhaps one of the best known ones is MAGA — a nod to his long-running slogan “Make America Great Again” — which trades under the TRUMP ticker.
Right now though, there’s particular focus on a rival called TrumpCoin, which uses the ticker DJT and is based on the Solana blockchain. On Monday night, the independent media company Pirate Wires posted on X:
Per conversations, Trump is launching an official token — $DJT on Solana. Barron spearheading.
— Pirate Wires (@PirateWires) June 17, 2024
This prompted frenzied speculation and a fair amount of skepticism — especially considering that no source for this information was provided.
But FOX Business added fuel to the fire after confirming crypto sources had said those with close ties to Trump “have been planning to launch a digital coin for at least two months.”
There’s still been no comment from anyone within Trump’s campaign about how true all of this is. But Vivek Ramaswamy, who has been potentially touted as a potential running mate and vice presidential pick, told the news outlet:
“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.”
Vivek Ramaswamy
With a huge information black hole emerging, it’s been fascinating to see how the markets have reacted and attempted to digest this news.
TRUMP, which launched late last year, has been especially bruised by hints that a rival token officially sanctioned by the former president is on the horizon.
It was trading at $10.72 at 10.07pm UTC on Monday night, which is when Pirates Wires first posted its gossip. Just five hours later, it had fallen to lows of $5.78 — down 46%.
MAGA’s price over the past 24 hours | Source: CoinMarketCap
Meanwhile, DJT over on Solana — with a ticker that matches that of his publicly listed company Truth Social — has witnessed an astronomical surge over the same period.
The latest data from SolScan suggests that the token is currently trading at $0.0237 and has a market cap of $237 million — with a supply just shy of 10 billion tokens and 11,126 holders.
What makes all of this even weirder is that those who supposedly should be in the know don’t appear to be forthcoming with confirmation.
Messari founder Ryan Selkis struck a cautious tone by saying:
I’m not 100% sure whether the Trump memecoin is real or an op, but I’m 50-50.I offered to help the people that reached out with legal and biz intros but told them I wouldn’t take anything in return because I got the vibes that the guy who approached me is a Fed.Stay safe!!!
— Ryan Selkis (d/acc) 🇺🇸 (@twobitidiot) June 17, 2024
And even Pirate Wires editor-in-chief Mike Solana — who weirdly and coincidentally shares his name with the blockchain the coin’s supposedly based on — suggested he won’t be following up with further information following his “scoop”:
getting a lot of inbound here. no, didn't speak with trump directly, assumed this was clear (text me though, mr. president). also assume he could rug pull, or pivot, say it's not true. just reporting what I know via sources. https://t.co/rGEukksUMs
— Mike Solana (@micsolana) June 17, 2024
fyi for all my new followers expecting more crypto news, I have not personally enjoyed doing crypto news and do not plan on doing any more crypto news in the future
— Mike Solana (@micsolana) June 18, 2024
Love-or-hate figure Martin Shkreli seems far more convinced in the memecoin’s legitimacy:
another trump insider, more insider than me. a lot more coming. i'm not telling you to buy or sell any token, just, hey, its real. https://t.co/guSr9XTgzz
— Martin Shkreli (e/acc) (@MartinShkreli) June 18, 2024
What we do know
Trump is in need of money — not least because of a slew of recent setbacks. He was ordered to pay $454 million following a judgment in a recent fraud case, but this was reduced to a $175 million bond while he appeals that verdict.
And while stock in Truth Social surged substantially when they initially launched on Wall Street, lock-up provisions mean he can’t cash out his stake until October at the earliest. In the meantime, share prices have been taking a bit of a hammering:
DJT stock has fallen 35% over the past month | Source: Google
In theory, the launch of an official Trump coin could be a logical next step in unlocking capital from his supporters — but a lack of liquidity might make it difficult to cash out without huge price slippages, and this could also land him in hot water with the SEC.
And it’s also worth noting that the Trumps have had connections with Solana before. His wife Melania has repeatedly released NFT collections on this blockchain.
Either way, we won’t have to wait long to find out whether this supposedly official coin is fact or fiction.
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