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A fringe cryptocurrency has surged more than 50 percent in value after Donald Trump announced the launch of a mysterious new crypto project.

The MAGA token, which is not officially tied to the Republican candidate or his campaign, surged in price from around $2.65 on Wednesday to over $4 on Thursday after Trump promoted the DeFiant Ones platform to his followers on Truth Social.

The sudden price surge went against broader market trends, with the overall crypto market up less than 1 percent over the same period.

The former US president wrote in his Truth Social post that the DeFiant Ones project would challenge the dominance of “the big banks and financial elites,” adding: “It is time for us to take a stand together.”

He also shared a link to the official Telegram channel for DeFiant Ones, which has over 40,000 followers, though he did not provide any further information about the new platform.

His son, Eric Trump, gave some details about what it could offer earlier this month, telling the New York Post it was “digital real estate” that would disrupt the financial industry.

“It’s fair,” he said. “It’s collateral that everyone has immediate access to. I don’t know if people realize what a shakeup this is for the world of banking and finance. I hope we can help change that.”

Donald Trump has received support from the crypto industry in recent months, despite previously calling bitcoin a “scam.”

In July, the billionaire appeared at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville to deliver a keynote speech. During the 45-minute appearance, he promised to create a “national bitcoin supply” and form a “bitcoin and crypto presidential advisory board.”

He is billing himself as the “crypto president,” making him the first presidential candidate for a major U.S. party to own cryptocurrencies, according to his financial disclosures.

Despite the MAGA cryptocurrency’s latest gains, the price is still a long way from the record high of $17 reached in February after Trump swept the Republican primaries to become his party’s third consecutive nominee.