U.S. President Joe Biden will end his campaign for a second term, he announced Sunday, sending meme coins tied to his campaign plummeting and slightly decreasing Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump’s chances on the Polymarket prediction market.
Vice President Kamala Harris is now the leading contender for becoming the new Democratic Party nominee for the 2024 race, according to another Polymarket contract. Biden gave his No. 2 a shout-out in his departure letter, endorsing her in a second tweet shortly after announcing the end of his campaign.
“Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats – it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this,” he said in a post on X.
Biden’s departure came after weeks of pushback that grew to more than a dozen lawmakers in his own party following a disastrous debate performance in June.
The price of BODEN, a meme coin poking fun at the president, fell by nearly half in the aftermath of his announcement. KAMA, a Harris coin, doubled in price.
Meanwhile, TREMP, a similar coin pointing to Trump, rose over 20%. After Biden’s announcement, bitcoin (BTC) initially fell below $66,000 before snapping back above $67,000.
The 2024 presidential election, which will also see voters choose the makeup of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, will take place this November.
“I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination,” Harris said in a statement. “I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party – and unite our nation – to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda.”
UPDATE (July 21, 2024, 18:38 UTC): Adds KAMA doubling in price, updates bitcoin’s price reaction.
UPDATE (July 21, 2024, 20:35 UTC): Adds Kamala Harris’ statement.
Edited by Nick Baker.