Virginia Senate candidate Mark Moran is leveraging a meme coin on Solana to amplify his long-shot Democratic primary challenge against incumbent Mark Warner.
Moran said the token, dubbed the “Mark Moran Fund,” was created by a pseudonymous developer and allocates 100% of royalties to him, with nearly $24,000 generated since launch.
“When you think about a political campaign, that is attention and community,”
Moran said, adding:
“Once I saw that it was legit, I thought, ‘Okay, well, any attention is good attention.’”
The former Wall Street banker said he is not using the meme coin for direct campaign donations but instead to build a treasury by buying tokens with royalties generated from a 1% perpetual trading fee.
The token briefly reached a peak valuation of around $32,000 before retreating, reflecting the volatility typical of hype-driven digital assets.
Campaign finance experts, including Columbia Law School professor Richard Briffault, have warned that meme coins linked to political figures could create legal issues around contribution limits, transparency and foreign donor restrictions.
Moran acknowledged the regulatory risks, noting he previously deleted a social media post after placing a wager on himself via Kalshi, as he attempts to harness crypto-native enthusiasm while navigating campaign compliance rules.
At the time of reporting, Solana price was $84.70.