Donald Trump Found Guilty on 34 Counts, Memecoin Market Rattled by Verdict
Former President Donald Trump faced a major setback as he was found guilty on 34 felony charges related to the “hush money” case. This verdict had a significant impact on meme coins associated with Trump, known for their volatile nature.
The TRUMP meme coin experienced a sharp decline of up to 35% after the announcement of the guilty verdict. However, it quickly rebounded and almost reached its previous peak. CoinGecko reported that within just 20 minutes, over $130 million was wiped from the market cap of the TRUMP token. Fortunately, the price of the token has since recovered and is now close to its 24-hour high.
Other Trump-themed tokens like Super Trump (STRUMP) and Baby Trump (BABYTRUMP) also saw similar declines but were not able to recover as well. Interestingly, the Joe Biden-associated meme coin, Jeo Boden (BODEN), briefly rose by 6.4% after the verdict before dropping below its pre-verdict price.
The broader market for political finance (PolitiFi) meme coins experienced a slight decline, with a 0.1% drop in market cap, bringing the total value to approximately $1.56 billion.
Trump’s legal troubles have also affected his cryptocurrency projects. The trading volume for his “Trump Digital Trading Card Collection” saw a drastic drop of 99% ahead of his April trial. This NFT collection, which was launched in December 2022, initially sold 45,000 tokens at $99 each.
The verdict was reached on May 30 by a Manhattan jury, who found Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records related to the payment his lawyer made to an adult film actress before the 2016 election. Despite the guilty verdict, Trump maintains his innocence and claims that the trial is politically motivated. He plans to challenge the decision and suggests having a “real trial” during the November election. The case will now move to the sentencing phase under Judge Juan Merchan, where both sides will present arguments for their preferred punishments through sentencing memorandums.
This verdict marks a historic moment in U.S. politics, as it is the first time a former U.S. president has been convicted of a crime. Trump’s sentencing is scheduled for July, and he could potentially face up to four years in prison. This trial is expected to have a significant impact on his public image and cryptocurrency ventures.
In the midst of these developments, the political climate in the United States has become even more intense. Despite public discontent over Trump’s legal issues, the Oracle blockchain-powered Polymarket still predicts that Trump will defeat Biden in the upcoming election.