Almost six years after the coin launched, Donald Trump's son Eric has publicly disavowed the project for the first time
Donald Trump has long been critical of cryptocurrencies — warning that they undermine the supremacy of the U.S. dollar.
Nonetheless, the then U.S. president was oddly quiet when a new digital asset called TrumpCoin all the way back in February 2016.
The altcoin bills itself as the "#1 patriot cryptocurrency" — but its investors have ended up suffering a painful lesson in free market economics.
Trading platforms have practically dwindled to nothing, and the current price of $0.2069 marks a fall of 88.23% from all-time highs of $1.67 that were recorded in January 2018.
And now, almost six years after the coin launched, Donald Trump's son Eric has publicly disavowed the project for the first time, tweeting:
"Fraud Alert: It has come to our attention that someone is promoting a crypto currency called "TrumpCoin" (Symbol "TRUMP.") This has NOTHING to do with our family, we do not authorize the use and we are in no way affiliated with this group. Legal action will be taken."
The staunch statement has drawn a rather confused response from those behind TrumpCoin, who pointed out that the FAQ section of their website has long stated that the asset "is not owned, operated, endorsed by, or otherwise affiliated with Donald J. Trump" or any of his organizations.
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TrumpCoin Troubles
While cryptocurrencies remain largely unpopular within corridors of power in Washington, a small number of U.S. lawmakers have started to embrace digital assets — and in recent years, altcoins have been used to make a political point.
The Biden era has resulted in the launch of the altcoin "Let's Go Brandon" — inspired by a slogan that is effectively shorthand for "f*** Joe Biden."
It was launched by a man who firmly believes that Trump should still be president today — and Steve Bannon, who served as Trump's campaign adviser, has taken a "strategic ownership position" in the cryptocurrency.
One of FJB's supporters messaged me back in November — and asked for the coin to be promoted in a news story.
When he didn't get a reply within 24 hours, he called me a "d***."
Nice.
