Andrew Tate’s Solana-based meme coin, DADDY, has rocketed 69% in just 10 hours, hitting a $37.5 million market cap, after reports surfaced that the controversial influencer is jetting off to the U.S. from Romania. The spike comes hot on the heels of his first chance to leave the country since his 2022 arrest, a move reportedly nudged along by pressure from Donald Trump’s administration.
Freedom After Years of Restriction
Tate, alongside his brother Tristan, boarded a private jet bound for Florida, according to the BBC, marking the end of a nearly three-year travel ban tied to their arrest in Romania in December 2022. The brothers face charges of human trafficking, sexual misconduct, money laundering, and running an organized crime group—allegations they’ve consistently denied. Until now, they’ve been pinned down in Romania, bouncing between custody, house arrest, and strict travel limits within Ilfov County.
Last week, the Financial Times reported that Trump’s team leaned on Romanian officials to ease up on Tate’s restrictions, a push confirmed by Romania’s foreign minister on local TV—though he downplayed it as “pressure.” The timing couldn’t be better for Tate’s crypto fans, as DADDY’s value soared from $22.1 million to $37.5 million before settling at $34.4 million, per DexScreener data.
DADDY: The Patriarchal Meme Coin
Tate dove into the meme coin game last year, championing DADDY as a counterpunch to Iggy Azalea’s MOTHER token. In June 2024, he crowed victory when DADDY’s market cap briefly outstripped MOTHER’s, claiming it was a win “for the patriarchy.” He even teased a global tour to hype the coin—name-dropping Tokyo, Dubai, and Miami—but a short-lived EU travel ban lift was quickly reversed, grounding those plans. Now, with U.S. soil in sight, the DADDY community is buzzing again.
A Mixed Bag of Triumph and Trouble
While Tate’s X followers cheer his apparent freedom, the road ahead is far from clear. Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) says the criminal case marches on, even with the travel ban lifted. Meanwhile, a British arrest warrant looms over Tate for rape and sexual assault allegations, plus a civil tax evasion claim in the UK. Two British women, separate from the Romanian case, recently shared graphic accounts of alleged assaults by Tate with the BBC, including chilling texts and voice notes.
Still, the DADDY coin’s wild ride shows Tate’s knack for turning headlines into crypto gains—love him or hate him, his influence is undeniable.
Hidden Insight
Newbies might see DADDY’s spike as pure hype, but the real kicker is how Tate’s exit—tied to political muscle from Trump—could signal a new wave of influencer-driven pumps. If he leverages this freedom for more stunts, smaller Solana meme coins could ride his coattails, unnoticed by casual traders.