The Solana-based GOLD token lost roughly 99% of its market capitalization hours after being promoted from the Real Trump Coins X account. On-chain analysts at Lookonchain reported that team-linked wallets sold 224.5 million tokens for about $330,000 around the collapse.
GOLD’s market cap slid from about $50 million to $500,000, according to DEX Screener data cited by Cointelegraph. The token surfaced early Saturday when the Real Trump Coins account, one of 53 that Donald Trump follows on X, announced the launch and directed users to RealTrumpCoins.com to buy it. Those posts were later deleted.
Real Trump Coins then disavowed the token entirely. “Trump Coins has not authorized and will not launch, promote, or authorize any digital token,” the account wrote on X, blaming the promotion on “third-party bad actors” and saying it was working with authorities to investigate. The account’s profile now links to TrumpCoins.com, a separate domain that does not display the GOLD promotion. RealTrumpCoins.com, however, continued advertising GOLD at time of publication. It pitched a 4% trading fee and pledged to use 99% of fees to buy back the token.
The supply was concentrated from the start. Lookonchain reported that the developer held 600 million GOLD, while 15 newly created wallets spent $18,657 to acquire another 224.5 million tokens. Combined, the team controlled 82.45% of total supply. Those 15 wallets then sold all 224.5 million GOLD for 3,178 SOL, about $330,000, booking an estimated $312,000 profit. That is roughly 17 times their initial outlay. “GOLD just rigged!” Lookonchain posted.
A denial that leaves the mechanics unanswered. The Real Trump Coins account was directing customers to RealTrumpCoins.com as recently as Aug. 25, days before the GOLD promotion appeared. Trump himself publicly promoted that same domain in September 2024, when he announced his silver medallions on Truth Social and described RealTrumpCoins.com as the exclusive place to buy them. Neither article clarifies who controls the X account, who controls either domain, or whether the account was genuinely compromised.
The explanation skips a few things. If the account was hacked, the redirect to a clean domain and the deletion of promotional posts suggest someone with backend access. Not a transient breach. RealTrumpCoins.com staying live with GOLD pricing details still on it complicates the “bad actors” framing. And the 15 wallets that bought in for $18,657 and exited for $330,000 did so on a schedule that lined up with the promotion, not against it.
Holders, as ever, are divided. X user Rune questioned how both the account and the domain could have been compromised simultaneously, according to Cointelegraph. No statement from Trump or his campaign has addressed GOLD. Whether any authorities have confirmed an investigation remains unknown.
The episode adds to scrutiny of Trump-linked crypto ventures. Trump and his family have backed or launched several, including the Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin and World Liberty Financial. On Aug. 19, Trump urged lawmakers to pass a “fair version” of the CLARITY Act, proposed legislation that would establish a regulatory framework for crypto assets. A token promoted from an account he follows, disavowed after a 99% crash, with team-linked wallets capturing a 17x return, is unlikely to simplify that push.
What remains is the gap between the denial and the chain. The Real Trump Coins account says it never authorized a token. The chain says 15 wallets bought 224.5 million GOLD for $18,657 and sold them for $330,000. Both things happened on Saturday.
