- Donald Trump Jr. teases family crypto project that’s ‘much bigger’ than just another memecoin.
- He dismisses rumours of a Trump family memecoin.
- He hints at a much larger crypto project aimed at disrupting traditional banking.
The Trump dynasty is diving deeper into crypto.
Donald Trump Jr. hinted that the former president’s family plans to launch a new blockchain project, and added that it won’t be anything as pedestrian as dropping yet another memecoin.
It will be “much bigger” than that, the Republican presidential nominee’s eldest son said in an interview on Locals, a subscription-based creator platform.
“We’re talking about a very different kind of platform,” Trump Jr. said.
He dismissed rumours of a Trump-linked memecoin, which have percolated among the cryptorati for a long time, amplified by the former president’s recent pro-crypto positioning.
Crypto has increasingly become a hot button issue in the run-up to the November election.
Once a crypto-sceptic, the former president has courted the industry, pledged to create a Bitcoin stockpile and to sack US Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler — although it’s unclear whether he’d actually have the power to do so.
While several industry reps have come out swinging for Vice President Kamala Harris, she has yet to make her position on crypto clear.
Trump memecoins
There are several Trump-themed memecoins in circulation.
Still, none of them are officially tied to the former president’s family.
In June, former pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli famously touted the memecoin DJT as being created together with Donald Trump’s youngest son, Barron Trump.
However, campaign insiders told DL News at the time that there was no family connection to DJT.
This week, speculation ran wild after Donald Trump’s second son, Eric Trump, teased an upcoming crypto project.
Then when memecoin Restore the Republic launched on the Solana blockchain on Thursday, many mistakenly assumed that it was the anticipated project.
Those rumours were amplified when conservative activist Ryan Fournier, chair of Students for Trump, sent a now-deleted tweet.
“Rumour has it that the official Trump coin is out... called Restore the Republic,” Fournier said.
RTR’s market cap surged to $155 million within hours, but the excitement was short-lived.
Eric Trump quickly clarified that “the only official Trump project has not been announced,” leading to a sharp decline in the token’s value, which is now down almost 72% from its peak, according to CoinGecko.
Donald Trump Jr. further dispelled the memecoin rumours on Thursday, saying that the forthcoming project will disrupt the traditional financial system.
“There’s been a lot of inequality in that only certain people can get financing,” he said. “So this notion of decentralised finance is obviously very appealing to guys like me.”
He also hinted at personal frustrations with the current financial system, mentioning difficulties in securing insurance and other financial services.
Callan Quinn is DL News’ Hong Kong-based correspondent. Get in touch at callan@dlnews.com.