This Week on Crypto Twitter: Degens Bet on Biden’s Woes

Despite the hostility of many crypto users to Joe Biden’s crypto agenda, the president’s crisis of legitimacy this week has cut both ways for degens—who, surprise surprise, care first and foremost about profiting off the news one way or another.

On crypto betting site Polymarket, users have already bet over $326 million on questions related to the outcome of the 2024 presidential election, and whether Biden will drop out over newfound concerns about his age and mental fitness. 

As political pundits and media figures heatedly debated this week whether Biden might drop out of the 2024 presidential election, Polymarket became one of the first places to approach the question with some decisiveness. On Wednesday, Vice President Kamala Harris officially became the site’s favorite to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination. 

Crypto users quickly took the development as irrefutable proof that Biden’s campaign had crumbled. 

By Friday, Biden had returned to the top spot on Polymarket, as prediction market volatility reflected the ongoing uncertainty of U.S. politics. But his diminished prospects overall have brought sustained misery to other degens. Namely: BODEN holders. 

The Solana meme coin, based on a distorted illustration of the current president, was almost certainly not created as an earnest endorsement of Biden or his campaign. In fact, negative Biden-related stories—including the conviction last month of his son Hunter—previously boosted the token. 

But lately, BODEN’s fortunes appear to have become tied to the question of whether or not Biden will remain in the 2024 race. When the president’s candidacy entered a new phase of crisis on Wednesday, BODEN crashed over 38% within 24 hours. 

Holders of the token—whether they ever wanted to or not—found themselves in the position this week of becoming advocates for the politician they once loved to mock. Some BODEN holders attempted to find a silver lining, prophesying that should Biden somehow find a way forward through the next few weeks, the token would see unprecedented highs. 

In the same vein, a Kamala Harris-themed Solana meme token soared nearly 400% this week—making yet another cohort of crypto traders into amateur political pundits overnight.