Mark Moran, a former Wall Street banker and reality TV contestant, is running in Virginia’s Democratic Senate primary against incumbent Mark Warner. To garner attention and appeal to crypto-native voters, Moran has promoted a Solana-based meme coin, earning nearly $24,000 in royalties, though he claims no involvement in its creation. The meme coin, designed by a pseudonymous creator, generates perpetual royalties for Moran and has been used to incentivize social media activity supporting his campaign. While the token’s value quickly faded after its launch, Moran maintains its purpose is to highlight issues in political fundraising and campaign finance transparency, not as a campaign donation tool. His actions have drawn scrutiny from regulators and experts concerned about potential violations of campaign finance law, transparency, and foreign money restrictions. Moran advocates for a straightforward federal crypto tax policy but acknowledges risks in the volatile meme coin space. The episode comes amid broader debate over lawmakers’ involvement with crypto assets, with legal proposals circulating to restrict politicians from promoting or benefiting from such digital tokens. Moran also faced criticism after making and publicizing a self-bet on his campaign, violating platform rules.