The recent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump has triggered a surprising series of events in the crypto market. As news of the incident spread, some in the crypto space rushed to create and trade digital tokens related to the event.
On the Solana blockchain, Pump.fun saw over 1,000 new Trump-related tokens launched in just a few hours. This platform allows users to quickly create new tokens, and many took advantage of this to mint coins linked to the unfolding news.
1000+ trump-related pump funs launched before biden made a statement
let that sink in
— pump.fun (@pumpdotfun) July 13, 2024
However, some of these tokens attempted to identify the attacker even before official information was released. A recent rumor incorrectly named one “Mark Violets” as the shooter, labeling him an “Antifa extremist” with a photo of him circulating all over social media. This led to the creation of several tokens bearing his name.
A token named “TSHOOTER” briefly reached a value of $200,000 as people traded it based on these false rumors. However, it soon emerged that the man in the circulated photos was actually Marco Violi, an Italian sports journalist with no involvement in the incident. Violi later announced on Instagram that he would take legal action against those spreading fake news about him.
Moreover, It wasn’t just smaller tokens that reacted. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, surged from $58,337 to nearly $60,000 in less than an hour after the news broke. Some believe this spike occurred because people think Trump might support crypto-friendly policies if he becomes president again.
As hours passed, more theories emerged and faded. An X user even created a token based on a graphic photo claimed to be of the deceased gunman. About an hour before the FBI confirmed any details, the New York Post identified the shooter as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. Within minutes, a new token with his name appeared and quickly reached a value of $265,000.
When the FBI finally confirmed Crooks as the attacker about 10 hours after the incident, most of these new tokens had already lost value. However, the broader crypto market continued to rise with some speculating that this reaction is because the failed attack might actually boost Trump’s chances in the upcoming election.
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