Thanks to a wild and largely unchecked claim by convicted “pharma bro” Martin Shkreli, rumors and speculations have been swirling surrounding Barron Trump’s possible involvement in the bizarre and enigmatic new DJT crypto token.
There’s certainly a lot to unpack surrounding this mysterious claim — here’s what we know.
The rumors first kicked off after Shkreli publicly claimed to have a working cryptocurrency partnership with Donald Trump’s youngest son, who recently turned 18, graduated from his prestigious private high school, and is reportedly slated to attend NYU in the Fall. According to Martin — who just got out of federal prison not terribly long ago — he and Barron Trump are the brains behind the strange new DJT crypto token that was launched in April and saw a spike in value after rumors launched connecting it to the former president through his youngest son.
This information first gained headway when it was exposed on X (formerly known as Twitter) by online crypto investigator ZachXBT, who posted alleged screenshots of a text message conversation he had with Shkreli, in which he claimed to have “over 1000 pieces of evidence I created it with Barron.”
For those who are confused and need additional context.
Earlier today Arkham announced a $150K bounty for the identity of the DJT creator
11:49 pm UTC I reply to Arkham saying I submitted for the bounty
11:57 pm UTC Martin Shkreli panic DM’s me
12:27 am UTC Martin Shkreli… pic.twitter.com/pKCQDOo7AZ— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) June 19, 2024
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The claim later came straight from the horse’s mouth when Shkreli doubled down during an X Live event, where he claimed to have worked with upwards of 50 people of the DJT crypto token, including Barron Trump.
“We’re friends, he wants to make money,” Martin said of Barron and his alleged involvement in the token, during the live event.
Shkreli would certainly be one of the last people that Barron Trump should want to get publicly entangled with, considering he was only released from federal prison in May 2022 after serving four years for securities fraud and lying to investors about the performance of his hedge funds MSMB Capital and MSMB Healthcare. Martin was sentenced to 7 years for his crimes in 2018 but was ultimately granted early release after receiving credit for six months in custody before his sentence combined with his good behavior in prison.
In January, Shkreli received a lifetime ban from the pharmaceutical industry from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), after a federal court in New York found him guilty of creating a monopoly and raising the price of the lifesaving drug, Daraprim, by a staggering 5,000 percent — earning Shkreli a place of infamy in pop culture and the nickname “Pharma Bro.”
As it stands, there is no solid proof of Barron Trump’s involvement in the DJT crypto token scheme, as noted by Fortune.
Featured image via Political Tribune Gallery
