Entries related to Donald Trump

January 21, 2025

Trump crossposting Twitter account advertises fake memecoins that make $1.25 million

Tweet by TrumpDailyPosts: "Introducing a new OFFICIAL meme $POWER, a token for patriots who stand with my vision for a strong America. This is YOUR chance to join the movement and stand for the values that make America great! pump.fun/coin/D5AuEQTd3... Let's fight to bring back power to the people of America! Donald Trump Truth Social 08:30 PM EST 01/20/25"

Tweet by @TrumpDailyPosts (attribution)

A Twitter account called @TrumpDailyPosts has more than 1.3 million followers on Twitter. While the account does automatically crosspost to Twitter any posts Donald Trump makes on his Truth Social account, it also posts Trump-related news and other tweets.

After the Trump family actually did launch the $TRUMP and $MELANIA memecoins, several more tweets by the @TrumpDailyPosts account appeared to crosspost additional announcements by Donald Trump on Truth Social of memecoins with names like $POTUS, $WIN, $POWER, and $MAGA. The tweets contained the date and timestamps that normally establish that a post on the account is a repost of Trump's genuine Truth Social posts.

It's not clear if the @TrumpDailyPosts Twitter account was hacked or if those running it decided to scam their followers. However, by sharing the now-deleted posts to their large following, they made around $1.25 million from people who were hoping to hop on the trend and buy in early to new Trump-backed memecoins.

Tweet by SlowMist [archive]

January 20, 2025

Trump inauguration pastor launches memecoin that tanks by over 90%

Tweet by Pastor Zo: "The crypto community was kind enough to send me $Lorenzo, so I have permanently locked my tokens into a Liquidity Pool, so that I will never sell on the community but rather just earn fees as our token continues to flourish!

Amazing day, all the Glory to God!"

Tweet by Pastor Lorenzo Sewell (attribution)

Reverand Lorenzo Sewell, a pastor and vocal Trump supporter who delivered the benediction at Donald Trump's inauguration, followed in his hero's footsteps by trying to shill a memecoin to his followers. In a video posted to Twitter hours after his speech, in which he seemed to still be wearing the same outfit, Sewell urged: "I need you to do me a favor right now. I need you to go buy the official Lorenzo Sewell coin."

The reaction to his post was not exactly warm, with lawyer Ari Cohn tweeting: "🎶Look at this grift, isn't it neat? Wouldn't you say God's debasement's complete? 🎶"

After a very brief spike in token price, the memecoin collapsed.

"‘Forgive him Satoshi’ — Trump’s pastor ripped for memecoin that crashed 93% after launch", DL News [archive]

January 19, 2025

Melania Trump launches a memecoin of her own, tanking her husband's in the process

Tweet by Melania Trump: "The Official Melania Meme is live!

You can buy $MELANIA now.

https://melaniameme.com
"

With a black and white photo of Melania Trump laughing, with her hands covering her mouth

Melania Trump's tweet announcing the memecoin (attribution)

Before people had a chance to process the fact that the incoming president of the United States had just launched his own transparent crypto cash-grab, the soon-to-be First Lady did the same. Whoever is calling the Trump family's crypto shots seemed to think they could just follow the same playbook a second time and enjoy the same results, but the launch of the new token brought a sudden crash in the $TRUMP token value.

This is not Melania Trump's first foray into the crypto world. In December 2021, she launched her own line of NFTs — only to apparently wash trade them after a tepid response.

Meanwhile, some in the crypto world are reacting with horror at Trump's decisionmaking. While they hoped that Trump's administration would be crypto-friendly, they did not seem to anticipate that the Trump family would openly embrace some of the ecosystem's worst parts to enrich themselves at everyone else's expense.

January 17, 2025

Trump launches a shitcoin

An illustration of Trump with his fist in the air, overlaid with the text "Fight fight fight". Below it is the URL GetTrumpMemes.com and $TRUMP.

Trump memecoin promo image (attribution)

In what is likely a preview of the levels of grift about to come — levels previously not thought possible — Trump has launched a Solana memecoin two days before his inauguration. The move was so unexpected that many believed the president-elect's Twitter account had been compromised to promote a fake scam token, but half a day later, it appears this scam token is of the genuinely Trump-backed variety.

Tweet by Donald Trump [archive]

September 3, 2024

Trump family Twitter accounts compromised ahead of World Liberty Financial launch

The Twitter accounts belonging to Lara and Tiffany Trump were compromised and used to announce a fake launch of the (unfortunately real) World Liberty Financial project that their family has been promoting. Donald Trump's son Eric tried to warn people of the scam, but in doing so retweeted the scam tweet containing the malicious token address.

The posts were deleted and accounts were locked down very quickly by Twitter, but not before approximately 2,000 people bought around $1.8 million of the fake token.

"Hackers breach social media accounts of Lara and Tiffany Trump", Politico [archive]
"House lawmakers clash at first-ever DeFi hearing", Blockworks [archive]

August 6, 2024

Trump-themed $DJT token rug-pulls, people blame Martin Shkreli or Barron Trump

A chart showing the sudden crash of the $DJT token price from around $0.0055 to around $0.0004

$DJT chart showing the August 6 crash (attribution)

Surprising just about no one, a wallet holding around 20% of the supply of the $DJT Trump-themed memecoin suddenly dumped its holdings, crashing the token price by around 90%. The token price had briefly spiked in June, when it was falsely reported that the token was "an official Trump token". However, the token's price had already dwindled since that time, and before the sudden dump.

People were quick to blame those behind the project, primarily "Pharma Bro" Martin Shkreli (who has been accused of dumping his own token before). Shkreli was quick to shift the blame to Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron, who he has also claimed is behind the token (although this has not been independently confirmed). However, the owner of the wallet that dumped its tokens is not definitively known.

"No one surprised as DJT token has finally rugged", Protos [archive]

June 18, 2024

Martin Shkreli claims to have been behind a Donald Trump memecoin

Martin Shkreli sits at a table, arms crossed and smirking

Martin Shkreli (attribution)

After Arkham Intelligence announced a $150,000 bounty for anyone who could prove the identity of the person behind a Donald Trump memecoin called $DJT, blockchain sleuth zachxbt quickly rose to the occasion. He submitted evidence that Martin Shkreli, the "pharma bro" who spent years in federal prison for financial fraud and who was previously known for hiking the price of an anti-malaria drug 56×, was behind the token. This wouldn't have been Shkreli's first foray into the blockchain world, after he launched a "web3 drug discovery platform", and then later dubiously claimed to have been hacked for over $450,000 after his computer was infected by a trojan after he torrented a porn video.

Shkreli attempted to frontrun the news in a Twitter space, and came out with his own claims that he had collaborated with Barron Trump to create the token, and with Andrew Tate to pump its price. However, fellow felon and memecoin pumper Roger Stone subsequently crawled out of the woodwork to claim that neither Barron nor Donald Trump was involved with $DJT.

Shkreli has yet to provide solid proof that he created the memecoin, though zachxbt's research tends to be very strong. If true, Shkreli faces potential legal repercussions, as he is still on parole after his release in 2022. The terms of his parole require him to "refrain from engaging in self-employment which involves access to client's assets, investments, or money, or solicitation of assets, investments, or money", and to make financial disclosures to the courts. Shkreli was also banned from the securities industry in 2018, as part of a settlement with the SEC.

"Pharma Bro's Trump Card", Rekt [archive]
Tweet thread by zachxbt [archive]
Tweet by Roger Stone [archive]
Sentencing document in US v. Shkreli [archive]

April 17, 2024

Roger Stone endorses $TRUMP memecoin with misleading posts

Roger Stone (attribution)

Amid tweets alleging corruption among jurors in his 2019 criminal case, far-right activist and Trumpworld figure Roger Stone has posted several tweets endorsing "MAGA Memecoin", one of the many memecoins with the $TRUMP ticker. In several posts, he's suggested the token enjoys support from Trump himself, mentioning that the token is "the largest holding in Donald Trump's crypto wallet". "Donald Trump has at least $2M in @MAGAMemecoin in his crypto wallet - get yours- this cryptocurrency is going UP!", he wrote in another.

What he failed to mention is that the tokens in Trump's wallet were airdropped to him, likely without Trump even realizing it. Several of Trump's crypto wallets are publicly known, and people send coins and NFTs to them all the time. Trump has no more endorsed Stone's "MAGA Memecoin" than he has the "HarryPotterTrumpHomerSimpson777Inu" tokens that also sit in his crypto wallet.

Elsewhere, Stone disclosed, "My promotion of MAGAMemecoin is, of course, sponsored." I haven't been able to find where he has disclosed the amount he was paid for these promotions, as he is required to do.

Tweet by Roger Stone [archive]

December 12, 2023

Grifter-in-chief Donald Trump hawks mugshot NFTs

Trading card style illustration featuring the Trump mugshot, with an arrow showing that a scrap of the suit will come with some of the purchases

Promotional image for the Trump NFTs (attribution)

The collapse of the NFT bubble hasn't stopped Donald Trump from trying to cash out. Following in the footsteps of his wife, who timed things much better as far as interest in NFTs goes, the former president launched his first NFT collection in December 2022. He was later accused of using stolen artwork in the collection.

Now, Trump is hawking a new set of $99 NFTs, featuring the August 2023 mugshot taken in connection to his ongoing racketeering lawsuit. Those who purchase 47 of the NFTs — amounting to $4,653 plus fees — are promised a scrap of the suit Trump wore in the mugshot and a dinner with the president-turned-fulltime criminal defendant.

The fine print, however, reserves the possibility that neither promise will come through.

"Donald Trump Unveils New 'Mugshot' NFTs, Stirring Up Prices for His Previous NFTs", CoinDesk [archive]

December 15, 2022

Donald Trump teases a "major announcement" that's just NFTs

Social media post by Donald Trump: "MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT! My official Donald Trump Digital Trading Card collection is here! These limited edition cards feature amazing ART of my Life & Career! Collect all of your favorite Trump Digital Trading Cards, very much like a baseball card, but hopefully much more exciting. Go to collecttrumpcards.com/ & GET YOUR CARDS NOW! Only $99 each! Would make a great Christmas gift. Don't Wait. They will be gone, I believe, very quickly!"

Donald Trump NFT announcement (attribution)

It's finally happened. The siren song of NFT grifting proved too much for Donald Trump.

Trump supporters got all excited when Trump posted on social media to tease a "major announcement". Was he going to run for speaker of the House? Return to Twitter? Unveil a presidential running mate?

His supporters were surprised — and not exactly thrilled — when the announcement turned out to be a collection of 45,000 NFTs (sorry, "digital trading cards") featuring artwork of himself in heroic outfits and poses. The NFTs are "just" $99 apiece, and money goes to Trump, not his campaign.

Even some of his strongest supporters were nonplussed. Steve Bannon said, "I can't do this anymore," and opined that he should fire whoever advised him to make the collection. A source working for Trump said that he is "supposed to be running for president right now", and questioned how "fleecing our supporters for $99" was in service of that goal.

Nevertheless, the NFTs seemed to sell decently well, with more than 30,000 minted by that evening.

"Trump’s new NFT collection is already losing value in the secondary market", Fast Company
"Donald Trump’s ‘Major Announcement’ Is Grifty NFT Project"The Daily Beast
Tweet by Justin Horowitz

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