Martin Shkreli, famously known as “Pharma Bro,” claims that Donald Trump’s 18-year-old son, Barron Trump, launched the TrumpCoin (DJT) token with his father’s approval and holds the private keys to its smart contract address.
Shkreli, who served over six years in prison for securities fraud, alleges Barron approached him in April to launch the Solana-based token, now valued at $146 million according to Birdseye data.
Barron Trump and his representatives have not commented on the matter.
In an X Spaces hosted by Mario Nawfal, Shkreli stated he merely provided advice about the token launch and did not actively participate in its deployment.
He claimed Barron was the true creator of DJT, with cryptocurrency influencer “Ansem” also involved.
“I taught someone how to make a contract, and they pushed the button, not me.
‘Keys are with Trump, not me,” Shkreli said in an X post.
He suggested around 10 people were involved in the token launch.
”I did not act alone.”
Shkreli also claimed Trump was in contact with crypto exchange Kraken about potentially listing DJT.
Cointelegraph reached out to Kraken but did not receive an immediate response.
Shkreli asserted that Donald Trump was aware of and approved the DJT token. “I have receipts of Barron saying his dad approved it.”
To support his claims, Shkreli introduced “Mongolian Prince” in the X Spaces—a teenager with less than 500 X followers who allegedly worked with Shkreli.
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Mongolian Prince confirmed Barron made the token and holds the private keys.
When asked by an audience member who deployed the contract, Mongolian Prince answered, “Barron.”
“[Barron] wanted to do something special, something significant, and we all wanted to help him with that.”
Mongolian Prince claimed he recently met with Trump in Florida.
However, his account of Donald Trump’s involvement was less clear.
He recounted that Barron showed his Solana-based Phantom wallet to his father before the DJT token launch, who supposedly responded with laughter.
The seven-hour X Spaces followed blockchain sleuth ZachXBT winning a $150,000 award from Arkham Intelligence for identifying Shkreli as the creator of the DJT token.
Adam Cochran, a partner at venture capital firm Cinneamhain Ventures, accused Shkreli of “trying to throw Barron under the bus” to clear his name.
Audience opinions on Shkreli’s version of events were mixed. Some believed him, while others doubted Trump would risk creating controversy during an election year.
Roger Stone, a close aide to Trump, denied any involvement of the former President or his son with the DJT memecoin.
Shkreli, convicted in 2017 on securities fraud and conspiracy charges, served nearly seven years in prison and paid over $70 million in fines.
Some have suggested his recent involvement might violate his parole conditions, which Shkreli denies.
“Read the law idiot,” Shkreli responded to the 1.6 million follower X account “BORED,” which claimed he would return to prison.
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