Trading of Trump Social Media App-Linked Stock Halted Repeatedly After Turning Into Memestock

On Wednesday, former president Donald Trump announced plans to launch a new social media platform known as ‘TRUTH Social’ in early 2022, with his Trump Media & Technology Group merging with Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC) to form a new publicly traded company. The company initially hoped to raise about $1.7 billion in capital.

Trading of the Trump social media platform-linked special-purpose acquisition company DWAC was halted repeatedly in Friday morning trading on the Nasdaq amid volatility believed to be associated with the stock’s popularity on r/wallstreetbets, the Reddit subreddit responsible for the buying frenzy involving videogame retailer GameStop earlier this year.

The shell company’s share price skyrocketed by over 350 percent in Thursday trading, and surged by over 200 percent Friday before correcting, closing at $45.50 per share yesterday and currently trading at about $82.40 as of noon today.

According to Yahoo Finance’ data, the SPAC has become the single most actively traded stock on Fidelity, with its market cap reaching upwards of $4.7 billion, and CNBC attributing the skyrocketing price mostly to small-time investors - like those who rallied GameStop before regulators stepped in to end the fun amid fears that r/wallstreetbets could destabilize the market.

r/wallstreetbets has been pushing DWAC heavily over the past 48 hours, with users posting a steady stream of meme-fueled posts promoting the company, thanking “Daddy Trump” for their windfalls, encouraging comrades to “buy the dip,” and turning the stock into a stonk – i.e. a memestock, or stock whose worth is determined as much by its status as an internet meme as its anticipated market value.

Stocktwits.com, an online platform focusing on market-related social media chatter, recorded a 9,000%+ surge in interest with DWAC.

It remains unclear whether Donald Trump or his company, the Trump Organization, has any stake in the SPAC is not clear. However, Patrick Orlando, DWAC’s CEO, is believed to have made some $420 million in trading from his holdings amid Thursday’s price surge.

Trump announced the creation of his ‘TRUTH Social’ platform on Wednesday, boasting that it would serve as a “rival to the liberal media” and “fight back against the ‘Big Tech’ companies of Silicon Valley.”

The app, expected to be rolled out in early 2022, follows efforts by smaller social media companies like Parler and GETTR to woo Trump and his supporters after the former president was banned from Twitter, Facebook and Instagram in the wake of the 6 January chaos outside the Capitol complex. A beta version of TRUTH Social is expected to debut next month.