Trump’s mystery crypto project causes MAGA token to suddenly surge in price

DeFiant Ones is latest project in Trump’s bid to be the first ‘crypto president’

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at the Bitcoin 2024 conference on 27 July, 2024, in Nashville, Tennessee (AP)

A fringe cryptocurrency has shot up in value by more than 50 per cent after Donald Trump teased the launch of a mysterious new crypto project.

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

The sudden increase in price bucked broader market trends, with the overall crypto market rising less than 1 per cent over the same time 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’s time we take a stand – together.”

He also shared a link to the official Telegram channel for DeFiant Ones, which has attracted more than 40,000 followers despite offering no further information about the new platform.

His son, Eric Trump, offered a few details about what it might offer earlier this month, telling the New York Post that it involved “digital real estate” that will disrupt the finance industry.

“It’s equitable,” he said. “It’s collateral anyone can get access to and do so instantly. I don’t know if people realise what a shake up that is for the world of banking and finance. I hope we can help change that.”

Donald Trump has courted support from the crypto industry in recent months, despite having previously referred to bitcoin as 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 stockpile” and form a “bitcoin and crypto presidential advisory council”.

Pitching himself as the “crypto president”, he is the first presidential candidate for a major US party to own cryptocurrency, according to his financial disclosures.

Despite the latest gains from the MAGA cryptocurrency, it remains a long way off its all-time high of $17, which it experienced in February after a string of victories in the Republican primaries put Mr Trump on track to become the party’s candidate for a third successive time.