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$155 Million Lost in Crypto Fraud That Fueled Trump Coin Mania

Vaseline August 10, 2024

Amid the buzz surrounding political tokens and the heated race for the White House between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, a token called Restore the Republic (RTR) emerged. According to Fortune , the crypto, which capitalized on rumors surrounding the Trump family, scammed investors and led to significant losses.

The short-lived saga of RTR unraveled

According to the reportIt all started on Thursday when the RTR token suddenly appeared on the Solana blockchain. Speculation immediately started that this new cryptocurrency was connected to former President Donald Trump or his family.

According to Fortune, the spark was a recent one message on social media by Donald Trump’s son, Eric Trump, who revealed that they are planning a “big announcement” regarding crypto and decentralized finance (DeFi).

Fueled by Trump’s name, the rumors quickly escalated. Ryan Fournier, president of the pro-Trump group Students for Trump, fanned the flames by posting that the “official Trump coin” was Restore the Republic.

Within six hours of trading, investors invested over $155 million in the token, sending its value soaring by over 120%. However, the bubble burst just as quickly as it had inflated.

An hour after hitting its peak of $0.022, RTR dropped by over 80%. The catalyst? A tweet from Eric Trump himself warned users about “fake tokens” and clarified that the Trump family’s “official project” had not yet been announced.

Bitcoinist reported Thursday that sources believe the Trump family’s new crypto project could involve investments in Real World Assets (RWA), tentatively called “World Liberty,” using blockchain technology. However, these are just rumors at this point, as the full announcement has yet to be released by the Trumps.

The Trump Crypto Craze

After the RTR token incident, Donald Trump Jr. attempted to distance his family from the disaster, to insist speculators not to associate any crypto project with the Trump family, “unless you hear it directly from us.”

The former president’s son acknowledged the appeal of “meme coins and that culture,” but stressed the need to avoid confusing legitimate businesses with these scams.

The creator of the RTR token, Kanpai Labs, is accused of orchestrating a “hard rug pull” — a form of crypto fraud in which developers abruptly leave a project and run off with investors’ funds, the report said.

Interestingly, the founder of Kanpai, known as “Bags,” claimed that the Trump family was behind the coin and even allegedly chose the launch date, but later deleted the post and denied any involvement.

The RTR incident is not an isolated case in the Trump-themed cryptosphere. Other meme coins such as Super Trump (STRUMP) and MAGA (TRUMP) have also historically seen price increases during political optimism for the former president.