tl;dr
Ryan Fournier, co-founder and chairman of Students for Trump, faces backlash for his involvement in a TikTok-themed meme coin, which caused the coin's market cap to drop significantly. Fournier received 50% of the coin's total supply, and its value surged, reportedly reaching a peak of $19 million b...
Ryan Fournier, co-founder and chairman of Students for Trump, faces backlash for his involvement in a TikTok-themed meme coin, which caused the coin's market cap to drop significantly. Fournier received 50% of the coin's total supply, and its value surged, reportedly reaching a peak of $19 million before declining. He sold 505 million tokens for approximately $700,000 in SOL, triggering a crash in the coin's price. Fournier denied intentionally harming the project, attributing the controversy to his inexperience with cryptocurrencies. However, blockchain data suggests the sell-off occurred while the coin's price remained stable.
The frenzy surrounding political figures and celebrities launching their own tokens has created opportunities for scammers, particularly targeting first-time crypto investors. It is advised to exercise caution and thoroughly vet any asset before making investments in this high-risk and volatile market.
Fournier allegedly did a rug pull, as his actions caused the TIKTOK meme coin to drop from $90 million to around $5 million in market cap. In a social media post, Fournier explained that he was approached by someone online with a proposal to create a coin supporting TikTok’s potential resurgence in the US. Fournier agreed to the idea and received 50% of the total token supply. The coin’s value skyrocketed, with his holdings reportedly reaching a peak of $19 million as the price surged by nearly 18,000%.
As the coin’s value began to decline, Fournier decided to sell 505 million tokens, exchanging them for approximately $700,000 in SOL. His decision to sell triggered a crash in the coin’s price and wiped out significant liquidity. Fournier denied intentionally harming the project and described his decision as driven by fear as the coin’s value dropped, attributing the controversy to his inexperience with cryptocurrencies.
It’s evident that the US president’s TRUMP and MELANIA meme coin created a wild frenzy in the market. Political figures and celebrities, who have very little knowledge of this complex industry, are attempting to launch their own tokens. Meanwhile, scammers are leveraging this hype to claim more victims. Surveys showed that over 40% of the users who bought the TRUMP token are first-time crypto investors.
Crypto is volatile, but meme coins are at the extreme end of this volatility. The risk of loss and scams is almost unavoidable. Therefore, it’s important to scrutinize and vet any asset before making any investment.