Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s prospects for a return to the White House have surged to an unprecedented high following an incident at a rally in Pennsylvania.
Reports have confirmed that the Republican presidential contender emerged unharmed after a shooting incident that claimed the life of a suspected gunman and a bystander.
Images and videos circulated widely on social media showing Trump defiantly raising his fist, bloodied but resolute, marking a dramatic turn in the national discourse dominated recently by scrutiny of his opponent, President Joe Biden’s perceived vulnerabilities and verbal missteps.
Following the incident, shares in Polymarket’s prediction contract on Trump’s electoral victory spiked by ten cents to 70 cents, reflecting a 70% probability of him prevailing in November. Each share pays out $1 if the prediction materializes, otherwise yielding nothing. These bets are executed via smart contracts on the Polygon blockchain and settled in USDC.
In addition to the political betting frenzy, meme tokens like “PoliFi,” named in homage to Trump, experienced significant gains. For instance, MAGA surged 34% to $8.38, while the satirical TREMP rose 67% to $0.6471 over a 24-hour period, according to CoinDesk. Conversely, BODEN, a satirical token linked to Biden, saw a 15% decline to $0.0333115. These tokens, though not functioning as traditional prediction markets, serve as a speculative indicator of public sentiment around the election.
The shooting incident also spurred the creation of new meme coins, some in questionable taste, on platforms like Pump.fun on the Solana blockchain. Coins like “Resurrection of Trump” (ROT) and “Hero Trump” (HERO) emerged, reflecting the event’s impact on digital currency communities.
Meanwhile, broader cryptocurrency markets showed resilience and growth, with the CoinDesk 20 index rising by 3.31% over 24 hours. Bitcoin, the flagship cryptocurrency, increased by 3.26% to $59,735.17, underscoring continued market stability amidst political volatility.
Trump’s vocal support for cryptocurrencies on the campaign trail, including an upcoming appearance at a Bitcoin conference in Nashville, aligns with the Republican Party’s stance against perceived regulatory overreach by the Biden administration in the crypto sector.
It is worth noting that Polymarket, founded by Shayne Coplan four years ago, has witnessed robust trading volumes in 2024, particularly driven by heightened interest in political betting ahead of the U.S. election. The platform’s U.S. presidential winner contract alone has attracted a record-breaking $252 million in bets, setting benchmarks in both crypto-based prediction markets and broader prediction platforms.
The incident in Pennsylvania has not only reshaped political betting dynamics but also underscored the evolving role of cryptocurrency in political discourse and speculative markets, setting the stage for further scrutiny and engagement as the election approaches.
