6-6-2025 – A dramatic rift between US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest individual, erupted into public view on Thursday, sending shockwaves through cryptocurrency markets and igniting a frenzy of speculative trading. Musk, escalating the feud, alleged that Trump is referenced in unreleased documents tied to Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier convicted of child sex trafficking in 2019, following an earlier conviction in 2008 for procuring a minor for prostitution. Epstein’s death by suicide in prison remains contentious among political figures, with his ties to high-profile celebrities, politicians, and royalty fuelling public demand for transparency in his case files. The FBI’s partial release of redacted Epstein documents in February has done little to quell speculation, and Musk’s claim—that Trump’s public association with Epstein is detailed in withheld files—has added fresh fuel to the controversy.
The fallout has battered two cryptocurrencies linked to the feuding titans. Dogecoin, long championed by Musk—who has dubbed himself the “Dogefather” and integrated it into Tesla’s merchandise payments—slumped 6.4% to $0.1788, ranking as the seventh-worst performer among the top 100 cryptocurrencies, per CoinGecko. Similarly, the Official Trump token, touted by a Newsmax article reposted by Trump as a real-time gauge of his political performance, plummeted 10% to $9.66, making it the second-biggest loser in the same group. The token’s decline follows a high-profile dinner hosted by Trump for 220 top token holders just two weeks prior, where one attendee reportedly grumbled about being served “cheap steak.”
The public spat has not only dented existing tokens but sparked a surge in new meme coins capitalising on the drama. Data from Dune indicates that 37,769 new tokens emerged across major launchpads on Thursday, a 25% increase from the previous day. Among them, the President Vs Elon token briefly soared to an $8 million market cap before crashing 75% to $1.96 million. A Pwedo token, riffing on Musk’s Epstein allegations, spiked to $945,450 but later fell 58% to $397,750. An Official Musk token, mirroring its Trump counterpart, hit $9 million before dropping 64.5% to $3.19 million. The standout, however, was the Kill Big Beautiful Bill token, born amid Musk’s initial tirade against Trump. It rocketed to $52.5 million, slumped 86.7% to $6.97 million, then surged 679% to a record $54.4 million after Musk’s Epstein claims intensified.
The deteriorating alliance—marked by Trump’s call for Musk to resign from a government spending oversight role and Musk’s apparent search for a new political affiliation—has cast a shadow over their respective crypto ventures. Musk’s short-lived DOGE department, briefly branded with Dogecoin’s logo, underscores his influence on the token’s fortunes. Meanwhile, Trump’s embrace of the TRUMP token as a barometer of his public standing highlights the intertwining of politics and crypto speculation.
