Martin Shkreli-led Trump memecoin DJT plummets 95%

As the broader crypto markets experienced a downturn, a Solana-based memecoin token using the former United States president Donald Trump’s name and image experienced a price meltdown. 

On Aug. 6, TrumpCoin (DJT) dropped from $0.00555 per token to $0.000229 before briefly recovering. This represents a 95% decrease in the token’s price. At the moment, the price hovers at $0.000430 per token.

Data from token price tracker Birdeye also showed that amid its price drop, its volume soared by 35,501%, with 1,736% more traders in the last 24 hours. According to Birdeye, its total value locked (TVL) also hovers at $23.1 million.

Broader market downturn

The token’s price drop comes a day after the broader crypto market witnessed the largest three-day sell-off in a year. On Aug. 5, the market shed at least $500 billion from the total market capitalization as prices of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) plummeted by 10% and 18%, respectively.

The sell-off came as equities also stagnated, with the S&P 500 falling 4.4% simultaneously. The market also seemed to be affected by weak employment data along with lower-than-expected results from leading tech firms.

TrumpCoin not related to Donald Trump

On June 19, “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli, who spent more than six years in prison for securities fraud, claimed that he was involved in creating the memecoin, fueling the rumor that the token was an official project of the former president.

Shkreli also claimed that Trump is truly behind the memecoin project. In June, Shkreli claimed that Barron Trump, the former president’s 18-year-old son, launched the memecoin with his father’s approval. The former hedge fund manager also alleged that the influencer “Ansem” was also involved.

Speculation surrounding whether Trump was involved in the token resulted in millions in bets. According to the crypto betting site Polymarket, over $6.3 million in bets were made on whether the token was “real” or not.

While Trump didn’t issue an official statement denying his involvement with the token, one of Trump’s close aids, Roger Stone, denied any involvement of the former president or his son with the memecoin token.