This week, Washington D.C. saw a brand-new (and very temporary) landmark: a 12-foot golden statue of Donald Trump holding a giant Bitcoin. Yes, you read that right, and no, it’s not a joke.
When politics collides with memecoins, the result can only be… well, surprising.
Installed right outside the U.S. Capitol, the statue stood proudly for a few hours before being carted away, but of course not before setting social media ablaze.
A stunt made for memes
As you can imagine, the statue wasn’t commissioned by a museum, an art collective, or even the Trump’s administration. Instead, it was the idea and work of a group of memecoin creators using the platform Pump.fun (a service that lets anyone launch a token in minutes).
They timed the installation perfectly with the Federal Reserve’s announcement, which resulted in its first interest rate cut since December. As Jerome Powell’s team trimmed the short-term rate from 4.3% to 4.1%, a golden foam Trump stood tall facing the Congress while holding a Bitcoin. So yeah, that’s impeccable timing right there.
The organizers even livestreamed the statue’s setup and unveiling on a dedicated X account, from carving Trump’s head out of foam to hauling the golden figure into place. Naturally, related clips spread across social networks, racking up views, and tourists passed by to take selfies.
Organizers claimed this statue was “designed to ignite conversation about the future of government-issued currency and is a symbol of the intersection between modern politics and financial innovation.” But let’s be real, this stunt was also (and mainly) to pump their freshly minted token, $DJTGST.
Pump, dump, repeat
For a few glorious hours, the plan worked. The memecoin’s value skyrocketed during the livestream hype. But in classic Pump.fun fashion, the buzz didn’t last. Within a day, $DJTGST had already lost 95% of its peak value, which left late buyers holding a very golden (and very empty) bag.
This new memecoin episode reminds of Trump’s official memecoin, $TRUMP which, despite riding on the president’s pro-crypto attitude, lost around 84% of its value since launch.
The cult of crypto demigods
Behind the comedy lies a deeper commentary on crypto’s recurring obsession with idolizing public figures. From Craig Wright’s self-declared “I’m Satoshi” claim, to Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin maximalism, to Elon Musk’s Dogecoin public love, the ecosystem has a knack for elevating personalities into “crypto demigods” in a way.
This is quite ironic though considering Bitcoin’s founding ethos. Satoshi Nakamoto stayed anonymous and then disappeared precisely to avoid becoming a leader or idol. Bitcoin was meant to empower individuals, not to create cults of personality, but not everyone has the same vision about that.
Art, politics, or marketing gimmick?
This wasn’t the first Trump-inspired installation on or near the National Mall. Earlier pieces criticized him: one giant golden hand crushing the Statue of Liberty’s crown, another bizarre sculpture looping footage of Trump and Jeffrey Epstein.
But this time it’s different. This specific statue celebrated him, and his pro-crypto stance of course.
Police didn’t interfere, no arrests were made, and by the evening the statue had vanished. But its brief presence left plenty of photos and hot takes behind to fuel internet with memes and the crypto space with another funny story.
So, what was it really? A bold political statement? Well, maybe. A clever marketing stunt? It looks like it. The weirdest tourist photo-op of the week in Washington? Absolutely.
Final thoughts
In the end, the golden Trump statue says less about Trump or Bitcoin than it does about crypto culture itself. Memecoins thrive on spectacle, virality, and fun (or sometimes absurdity). Everything can become marketing content, from foam statues to Elon’s tweets.
Will we remember this statue as a turning point in the future of money? Of course not. But will we remember it as another example that in crypto, reality sometimes looks like fiction? Yep.
Just when you think you’ve seen it all… a golden Trump holding a Bitcoin shows up outside the Capitol.
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