The reality of creating meme coins learned from Trump's gold foil statue

In the world of cryptocurrency, the most extreme case of meme coin creation is unfolding. Investors invested $300,000 to craft a massive gold-plated statue standing 15 feet tall and weighing 7,000 pounds, using it as a marketing tool to promote a meme coin called PATRIOT. An in-depth investigation by The New York Times has vividly revealed how risky and complex meme coin creation can be.

A Meme Coin Marketing Project Started with $300,000 Investment

This project began in July 2024 within a Telegram crypto investment group chat. At that time, it was shortly after Trump narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. The image of him with a determined expression, fist raised high, became the centerpiece of the meme coin creation.

Cryptocurrency developer Ashley Sansalon, right-wing activist Dustin Stockton, and investor Brock Piers teamed up. They contacted renowned sculptor Allen Cotril, 73, who had previously created statues of Edison displayed in the U.S. Congress and several U.S. presidents.

The investors’ requests were specific. The statue needed to be taller than previous works, and modifications to its appearance were also demanded. “They asked to reduce the neck’s excess flesh and make the body more slender,” Cotril recalled in a later interview. As a result, the finished bronze statue became the tallest of his works, with a dazzling gold leaf finish.

The funds provided by investors for the statue’s production totaled $300,000. This marked the first step in meme coin creation. The project gained momentum when a letter from Trump stating “This statue looks really cool” was delivered to Burns in December 2024.

PATRIOT Token and Don Colossus: The Bright and Dark Sides of Meme Coin Creation

The PATRIOT meme coin was essentially a cryptocurrency with little practical function beyond speculation. The core of meme coins is to generate enough network enthusiasm to make potential buyers believe the price will keep rising. The statue was precisely a tool for that purpose.

By the end of 2024, the PATRIOT token was officially launched. This coincided with Trump’s promise to make America the “capital of global cryptocurrencies.” The token’s price surged at times. The website featured the slogan “The People’s Cryptocurrency, This Statue Cannot Be Erased by Anyone.”

This project exposed the typical marketing approach in meme coin creation. Photos of the statue’s construction progress were continuously posted on X (formerly Twitter). Investors linked the “Make America Great Again” campaign with the statue, aiming to embed it into Trump’s official industry.

However, things started to get complicated. In January 2025, Trump launched his own meme coin, TRUMP. As cryptocurrency traders flocked to buy the official token, interest in PATRIOT rapidly declined. By the end of January, PATRIOT’s price had plummeted over 90%. This was the harsh reality of meme coin creation.

Disputes Behind the Statue: Shadows in Meme Coin Marketing

In December last year, Cotril installed a concrete and stainless steel foundation at Trump’s golf resort in Doral, Florida. A regional unveiling of the statue was planned. Burns told a collaborator in January that a White House scheduler was “actively coordinating” the current president’s attendance.

However, sculptor Cotril expressed fatigue with the investors. He was unaware that until fall 2024, the investors had been using images of his work to promote the PATRIOT token. Believing this infringed on his intellectual property rights, Cotril entered into disputes with the investors.

Eventually, an agreement was reached to pay $150,000 in copyright fees for the statue, but Cotril claimed he still had not received $75,000. Including other unpaid costs, he stated he needed about $90,000 more. “Until all debts are settled, this statue will never leave my foundry,” he declared.

The investors countered. Sansalon argued, “Holding back some funds until the final product is delivered is standard in all commercial contracts,” and promised to pay the full amount before the statue’s unveiling. Burns said he had never received any compensation, and Stockton claimed the project had essentially not made any money. The project organizers explained that the PATRIOT token was “simply a fundraising tool to support the statue-related expenses.”

Ongoing Marketing: Is Meme Coin Creation Over?

Interestingly, despite these disputes and the price crash, marketing continued. In February 2026, notorious former Congressman George Santos appeared on Fox News, showcasing a mini gold-plated Trump statue and mentioning the PATRIOT token. Santos said, “I was paid to advertise. I’ve always been honest about that.”

Trump’s influential associate, Mark Burns, also kept pushing the project. He boasted on X about the Florida statue’s foundation being a “treasured land.” Accounts related to the PATRIOT token kept posting photos of the Doral statue’s foundation and pinned detailed instructions on how to buy the meme coin.

This massive experiment in meme coin creation is still ongoing. Sansalon said in a live broadcast, “The dream is still alive.” The team even wants to gift Trump a mini gold-plated statue of the same design. Their goal is to create a “collectible” that can be displayed in the Oval Office.

However, Kimberly Bens, a spokesperson for Trump’s group, said she was unaware of the existence of this meme coin until contacted by The New York Times. Trump’s son, Eric Trump, clarified via X that “he has not participated in any way related to this token.”

This case demonstrates how speculative and risky meme coin creation can be, and how easily it can turn into internal disputes and scams. Behind the flashy marketing and giant statues, unpaid costs, intellectual property disputes, and price collapses awaited. This is the reality of meme coin creation.