Trump-related posts triggered GOLD tokens to plummet 99%, selling off millions of dollars

Trump Digital Gold Tokens plunged 99%: Wallets that control 82.45% of supply cashed in about US$1.01 million

According to monitoring by the on-chain analysis platform EmberCN, wallets associated with Trump Digital Gold Tokens (GOLD) have sold all 824.54 million GOLD tokens it holds in exchange for approximately 9,784.6 SOL (worth approximately US$1.01 million). These wallets control 82.454% of the total supply of the token through pre-allocation and initial purchase of the token. Such concentration of positions allows related addresses to sell off most of their liquid supply after other traders enter the market. EmberCN called the wallets "scammers", but as of press time, no law enforcement agencies or U.S. regulators have publicly identified the persons controlling these addresses.

The birth and promotion of GOLD tokens

According to the timeline shared by EmberCN, GOLD was created on the Solana chain at 7:38 a.m. that day. Less than two hours later, an X platform account using the@realtrumpcoins1 account posted the contract address of the token, providing traders with a direct purchase route. The account is related to Trump's commodity cooperation project, but its connection itself does not prove that GOLD is an official Trump project. TrumpStore.com is identified as the official retail website of the Trump Organization, and the organization's official website also guides consumers to the Trump Store to buy official products. However, neither page lists GOLD as an authorized digital asset.

Promotion pushed up market value to US$66 million and then quickly collapsed

EmberCN said that around 9 a.m., a contract address post posted by@realtrumpcoins1 triggered a surge in trading volume, and GOLD's market value briefly hit US$66 million. The token price fluctuated violently over the following hours until the promotion post was deleted at 11:48 a.m. Analysts pointed out that the associated wallet cluster started selling at the same time as the post was deleted. The massive sell-off caused GOLD's market value to plummet from approximately $55 million to $1 million in about 30 seconds. Relevant addresses continued to exchange tokens for SOL until around 2 p.m., clearing all 824.54 million positions. By the time EmberCN released its report, GOLD's market value had dropped to about US$700,000, a drop of nearly 99% from its peak. Analysts estimate that sellers converted their positions to approximately $1.01 million in SOL based on the value of the cryptocurrency at the time.

Another report citing Lookonchain data pointed out that 15 wallets were related to the project team, some of which had purchased GOLD before the promotion post was released. However, the on-chain records themselves cannot confirm whether these addresses and tokens or X platform accounts are controlled by the same group of people. In the public statement cited by EmberCN, there is no evidence that Donald Trump himself promoted GOLD. The token is also not related to the Solana memin "Official Trump (TRUMP)" launched in January 2025 and publicly promoted through Trump-certified social media accounts.

GOLD's collapse follows the common pattern of Solana tokens

The highly concentrated position of GOLD tokens exposes buyers to the risk of selling in a small number of wallets. When holders who controlled more than four-fifths of supply withdrew, there were hardly enough buyers in the market to absorb the influx of selling orders. As crypto.news previously explained, the Solana launch platform allows token creation and early trading to be completed almost instantly, while allowing automated buyers, bundled wallets and insiders to gain large positions before most retail traders discover the asset. Traditional "carpet-pulling" scams involve developers removing liquidity from a decentralized exchange pool, and even if liquidity is not withdrawn directly, tokens can also collapse when associated wallets control most of the supply and sell off amid demand created by social media promotion.

GOLD's movements are highly similar to earlier incidents involving the BARRON token, an unofficial token named after Trump's son. In January 2025, an internal wallet purchased 136.35 million BARRON tokens for approximately US$1,048, and sold them for approximately 4,405 SOL (worth approximately US$1.05 million) after the tokens rose. Another politically themed token attracted attention in May 2026, when Bubblemaps found that more than 200 newly invested wallets controlled almost all of the initial supply of the token. The former Ghanaian president-themed CWU token-related wallet has sold off about US$600,000 while the associated address still controls about 85% of the supply.

Official Trump tokens also face doubts in the United States. In August 2025, U.S. senators called on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to investigate whether the official token had "soft carpet pulling" behavior, as its price fell by about 98% from its peak. Nansen data cited by lawmakers showed that 988,905 wallets out of 1.48 million wallets purchased TRUMP had a combined loss of approximately US$3.81 billion. However, the lawmaker's request did not confirm that fraud occurred, and any enforcement decision would require regulators to review the economic facts related to the structure, promotion, distribution and sale of tokens.

U.S. regulations have limited protection for memin buyers

For U.S. traders, the SEC's corporate finance department stated in February 2025 that the issuance and sale of minicoins that fit its description generally do not involve securities under federal law. Staff view such assets as collectibles purchased primarily for entertainment, social and cultural purposes, rather than investments related to business operations. The SEC staff statement also noted that the mein holders covered by its analysis are not protected by federal securities laws. The review is not legally binding, and the SEC said it will review the economic realities behind any product that uses the memin label to circumvent securities requirements. The SEC warned that even if tokens are not considered securities, fraud may still be held accountable under other federal or state laws. Its Office of Investor Education and Advocacy has separately warned that fraudsters may create culturally themed tokens, use social media promotion to raise prices, and then sell positions before attention dissipates. According to the SEC's description of cryptocurrencies as "driving up shipments", promoters profit from inflated prices, while subsequent buyers may suffer serious losses. Investor warnings advise traders not to rely solely on social media posts or celebrity connections to decide whether to purchase crypto assets.