Recently-launched Solana (SOL)-based memecoin Restore the Republic (RTR) soared on rumors of links with former U.S. President Donald J. Trump, only to then crash over 82% when it was revealed the 45th President of the USA had nothing to do with it.
According to a recent Coindesk report, Restore the Republic saw its market cap reach $155 million before the sudden crash. The crash followed a tweet by the Republican presidential candidate’s son, Eric Trump, clarifying that his father has no official token. He wrote in an Aug. 8 tweet:
“Friends: Beware of fake tokens! The only official Trump project has NOT been announced! You will hear it here first.”
CoinGecko data shows that Restore the Republic saw a 24-hour high of $0.029 and a 24-hour low of $0.005152. This translates to a loss of over 82%.
The start of the rumors
The rumors first started spreading when on Aug. 6, Eric Trump shared his newfound love for cryptocurrency and decentralized finance (DeFi). He also went as far as to tease an upcoming relevant announcement:
“I have truly fallen in love with Crypto / DeFi. Stay tuned for a big announcement.”
Restore the Republic began trading on Thursday, quickly reaching a market cap of $155 million within hours.
Conservative activist and chair of Students for Trump Ryan Fournier wrote in a now-deleted Twitter post:
“Hearing word that [Restore the Republic] is the official trump coin. Shoot to 100 million market cap in an hour. wow.”
This was quickly followed by Eric Trump clarifying that the token has no links to Donald Trump in the aforementioned tweet on the next day. The market was quick to react, and the value of the token fell well over 80% from its peak price.
Fournier jumped back on Twitter to explain himself in a new thread on Aug. 8. He explained that he was told by non-descript sources that Donald Trump Junior “would be backing this token.” He added:
“That is why I said rumor-I’m not a big crypto guy and I was not in any way involved in this project.”
The conservative activist wrote that he invested $350 in the token himself and lost all of it but $30. He further claimed that he “was never given anything either” and expressed anger directed towards those who “apparently backed out last minute and caused this.”
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