The Kanpai Pandas NFT collection experienced a significant decline in its floor price, falling by 37.44% within 24 hours and 40.13% over the past seven days. The sharp drop, reported on August 9, saw the price decrease from 0.775 ETH on August 8 to a low of 0.42 ETH.
Source: Blur
This represents a 45% decline in value, leaving the current price at 0.46 ETH, approximately $1,220. The downturn followed allegations that the creators endorsed a controversial token, Restore the Republic (RTR), themed around former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Community responds to token controversy
The decline in the Kanpai Pandas NFT price is being attributed to the endorsement of the RTR token by the project’s creators. The NFT community expressed its disappointment and concern, particularly after the Trump family disavowed any connection to the token. Eric Trump, the son of the former president, strongly denied the token’s association with the Trump family, further exacerbating the controversy.
Ice Bagz, the CEO of Kanpai Pandas, and his team faced criticism from the community for their alleged involvement in promoting RTR as the “official” Trump token. Screenshots shared by users on X, formerly known as Twitter, revealed the promotion of RTR by Kanpai Pandas members before any official statement from the Trump family. One user even suggested that Kanpai Labs was responsible for running Google ads for the token, adding fuel to the controversy.
RTR token suffers a massive decline
The RTR token, launched on the Solana (SOL) blockchain, initially surged to a market value of $155 million. However, following a warning from Eric Trump, the token’s value plummeted by 95% on Thursday. The warning clarified that former President Donald Trump does not have any official token, leading to a massive sell-off and further declining confidence in the RTR token.
The community’s anger was directed at the Kanpai Pandas team, who had promoted the token on social media. This backlash was amplified by the involvement of Ryan Fournier, a conservative advocate who previously claimed on X that RTR was the official Trump coin. However, that post has since been removed following the Trump family’s denial.
Ice bagz responds to growing controversy
Amid the growing criticism, Ice Bagz, the founder of Kanpai Pandas, responded to the situation in a post on X. Although his response was vague, he acknowledged the support received during the controversy and thanked those who “sent love.” He also hinted that the Trump family might have played a role in the launch date of RTR, suggesting that they “hard rugged them,” a term implying betrayal in the crypto community. However, this post was deleted shortly after being published.
DJT Coin’s current market cap (Source: DexScreener)
The Kanpai Pandas team continues to face scrutiny from the NFT community as the scandal unfolds. This incident is not the first time a Trump-themed token has caused controversy. Just last week, TrumpCon (DJT), another Trump-related token, made headlines when it lost 90% of its value after a large holder dumped their tokens. Martin Shkreli, an American investor, had claimed that he, along with Donald Trump’s son Barron, had established the token, but the market reaction was swift and unforgiving.