Martin Shkreli Joins Trump Crypto Game in the Weirdest Way Ever
Disgraced former hedge fund manager Martin Shkreli claimed Wednesday that he and Barron Trump are responsible for a mysterious Trump-branded meme cryptocurrency.
The token, named “Trump Coin,” sparked confusion and interest since it was registered on the Solana blockchain platform earlier this week, as it bears the same DJT symbol as the stock symbol for Donald Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social. Rumors that Trump was linked to the coin sent its value skyrocketing by 385 percent within 24 hours, and amassing a trading volume of $363 million, according to The Block.
It wasn’t long before Arkham Intelligence, a data analytics firm, promised a $150 thousand bounty to anyone who discovered who was behind the asset. Within hours, blockchain sleuth ZachXBT posted a series of screenshots to X, formerly Twitter, claiming that he’d cracked it: the token was invented by the infamous “Pharma Bro” himself, who is best known for artificially raising the price of a life-saving drug by 5,000 percent.
Seemingly angry at the investigator’s revelation and the subsequent wave of skeptics undermining Shkreli’s claim to the coin, the disgraced former pharmaceutical executive leapt to the mic. On Wednesday afternoon, he participated in a live Space broadcast on X to explain his involvement in the company.
Shkreli claimed that he was approached about making a meme coin with Barron Trump by the 18 year-old’s friend Cameron. Shkreli said he has since established a “friendship” with the president’s son, whom he credits as the “mastermind” behind the coin.
“I was surprised. It was the president’s son, [which] seems like a good idea,” Shkreli said, laughing. He noted that Barron claimed that the presumptive Republican nominee approved of the project and thought it was “great.”
Shkreli became adversarial when asked if the token was created to raise money for Trump’s presidential campaign. “Whatever, the goal was to sell NFTs, make money,” he snapped, denying that the meme coin was a money-making scheme for Trump.
Instead, he claimed the funds were meant for Barron, who was expected to get “everything, everything, everything. Period.”
Meanwhile, Shkreli said his own financial incentive was “nonexistent,” and he just “wanted to see where it would go.”
“There’s nothing wrong with creating a meme coin,” Shkreli insisted. “There’s absolutely nothing wrong with setting up an LP, and selling it to people you know.”
According to Shkreli, only a “Trump family member” has a private key, the tool that would allow someone to access and manage the funds raised.
The possibility of financial gain aside, getting involved in crypto could be a way for Trump to attract fans involved in the highly lucrative field.
“I’m glad President Trump and his campaign are leaning into crypto, including accepting it—he’s ahead of the curve, “ failed presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy told Fox Business earlier this week.
“Embracing crypto will help Trump continue to bring libertarians and your not-typical Republicans into the fold—it’s a winning issue.”
Ultimately, Shkreli was unable to provide any real proof that he’d collaborated with Barron on the meme coin, and the Trump family and campaign have yet to release a statement or acknowledge Shkreli’s claims.