Trump's well-known supporter Ryan Fournier caught in MEME token fraud controversy
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Trump's well-known supporter Ryan Fournier caught in MEME token fraud controversy
"Bodyguard Coin" scam?
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsBy Zen, PANews
In conservative American political circles, Ryan Fournier rose to prominence as a student activist leader and staunch supporter of Donald Trump. However, in the cryptocurrency world, this self-proclaimed "crypto newcomer" has repeatedly found himself at the center of controversy.
From the recent rapid collapse of the "TIKTOK" memecoin to alleged schemes promoting the "Restore The Republic" (RTR) token under Trump's name, Fournier has consistently appeared in the eye of the storm. Due to a possible translation error, Chinese-speaking communities mistakenly believed he was Trump’s bodyguard, dubbing the meme coin the “Bodyguard Coin.”
Who is Ryan Fournier?
Ryan Fournier is a conservative American activist, political commentator, and co-founder and national chairman of Students for Trump. As a star figure within the MAGA movement, he is widely known on social media as one of Trump’s most vocal early supporters. For instance, in 2018, Fournier led a campaign urging a boycott of Walmart after the retailer sold T-shirts printed with the slogan “Impeach 45” — a reference to then-President Donald Trump.
In 2015, while studying at Campbell University in North Carolina, Fournier co-founded Students for Trump alongside John Lambert. The organization aimed to mobilize youth support for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. As its national chairman, Fournier actively participated in campaign events and quickly emerged as a young representative of the MAGA base.
However, in 2021, John Lambert was sentenced to 13 months in federal prison for operating a fraudulent law firm. Although Fournier was reportedly involved in helping Lambert establish the fake firm back in 2016, he was not prosecuted, according to court documents, due to his cooperation with federal law enforcement since at least April 2018. Nonetheless, in November 2023, Fournier was arrested in Johnston County, North Carolina, on domestic violence charges, accused of grabbing his girlfriend’s right arm and striking her with a handgun.
Fournier: I Sold 50% of the Memecoin, But I Didn’t Commit Fraud
Last Sunday, shortly after TikTok resumed operations in the U.S., Ryan Fournier announced during an X Space session that he had partnered with a memecoin trader named Asta to launch a TikTok-themed memecoin called “TIKTOK.” Asta claimed responsibility for creating the token, allocating 50% of the supply to Fournier while retaining only 1% for himself.
Perhaps inspired by the explosive performance of tokens like TRUMP and MELANIA, the TIKTOK token surged rapidly upon launch, briefly reaching a market cap near $90 million. During the rally, Fournier shared screenshots on X showing his holdings valued at $19 million. Meanwhile, Asta excitedly posted: “I sent 50% of TIKTOK to Fournier—that’s almost my entire supply—just wanted to start something cool, and now the market cap is already $60 million. That’d be really cool if I held it.”
Almost immediately after Asta’s post, Fournier dumped all of his TIKTOK tokens. “Right after I posted that, he sold all his holdings. I don’t even know what to say anymore,” Asta lamented in a follow-up tweet less than ten minutes later. According to a wallet address confirmed by Fournier starting with 9H, he swapped 505 million TIKTOK tokens for approximately $700,000 worth of SOL at 20:28 UTC on Sunday. This move caused the TIKTOK token price to crash to nearly zero.
The incident sparked strong backlash from the crypto community, with many condemning Fournier’s actions. In response, Fournier claimed that Asta had sold first, prompting him to follow suit. “I don’t know what happened… I think that guy scammed me, and I just followed along,” he said.
Fournier repeatedly emphasized that he is new to crypto and confused by technical terms. “You’re talking to someone who’s brand new to crypto. I didn’t even know whether I could sell anything,” he said during the X Space, denying any profit from the sale and claiming he ended up “almost at a loss” after buying and selling the token. He also posted on X that he would stay away from crypto going forward until he better understands who to trust—adding that he hopes to work in President Trump’s future administration. Yet, during the same live session, he boasted about having connections with Trump’s crypto advisors.
When confronted with his earlier screenshot showing massive holdings, Fournier replied: “Yes, you can look at my account—the number was accurate. The person who created the token clearly manipulated the price. I thought that value was real.” His response drew widespread criticism and mockery from traders, who labeled him a greedy clown. “Fournier doesn’t understand slippage in crypto trading. He thought he’d receive the full displayed amount when selling, but only got a tiny fraction,” one trader commented.
“He said he’d never sell and was reaching out to TikTok. This guy really stole so much money,” Asta added in a later response criticizing Fournier. While there is no evidence that Asta personally profited significantly, as the initiator of the project, he too faced heavy criticism, with some users demanding he “go to jail too.”
In fact, despite being relatively new to the crypto space, this isn’t the first time Fournier has stirred controversy.
The RTR Token Incident: Controversy Over Alleged Trump Endorsement
Months before the Trump family officially entered the crypto arena with their DeFi project, Fournier had already sparked controversy once.
“We’re about to shake the crypto world with something huge. Decentralized finance is the future—don’t get left behind.” In August 2024, Donald Trump’s sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. both posted on X, expressing enthusiasm for cryptocurrency and teasing major industry developments. This marked the official unveiling of the “World Liberty Financial” project, signaling that the Trump family’s involvement in crypto went beyond rhetoric to active participation.
Just as confidence in the sector was rising, rumors suddenly spread on X suggesting that the memecoin Restore The Republic (RTR) was linked to Donald Trump himself. The source of this “insider information”? Ryan Fournier. Additionally, well-known influencer @SizeChad released a video stating: “If they don’t buy RTR tokens, their T-score will be low” (a metaphorical reference to testosterone levels, symbolizing masculinity). This messaging—implying that “real men buy RTR”—aligned perfectly with Trump’s frequent emphasis on strength and vigor as symbols of male dominance.
Once the rumor gained traction, RTR experienced a sharp price surge followed by a dramatic crash. Four wallets suspected to be insider accounts reportedly made $3.8 million from trading RTR. However, the team behind the Restore The Republic X account later clarified on X Sunday that Fournier had no involvement in the project and had never received any RTR tokens from them. In their statement, they emphasized: “Ryan is not part of our team—and never has been.”
Upon learning of the false association, Eric Trump firmly denied any connection between the RTR token and his family on X, condemning Fournier’s actions. Once the misinformation was corrected, the RTR token price plummeted by 95%. Both Fournier and @SizeChad subsequently deleted their promotional posts about the token.
Additionally, Donald Trump Jr. publicly dismissed long-standing rumors that the Trump family would launch a meme coin. He hinted instead at a more ambitious blockchain initiative, describing it as “much bigger in scale” than simply launching another meme token.
Yet, the surreal weekend just passed delivered a clear message—to Donald Trump Jr. and everyone else: in terms of scale, perhaps the Trump family might be better off simply launching one meme coin after another.
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