Being associated with former U.S. President Donald Trump is proving a successful way to be minted as a meme stock.

       Shares in Creatd Inc. surged as much as 69% after the company announced a new non-fungible token art drop through its OG Gallery unit consisting of three photographs of Trump. The NFT includes “three candid images of a young Donald Trump, captured as he signs the breast of a model,” Creatd said.

       Trading volume was more than 500% of the three-month average on Monday. The stock, which triggered at least one trading halt shortly after the market open in New York, and the NFT are being discussed on Reddit and StockTwits.

       This followed news on Friday that Creatd’s WHE Agency has signed TikTok creator Alexis LaRue. The shares closed 41% higher that day.

       Meme World

       Creatd becomes part of a growing number of retail-trader favorites linked to Trump. Last week, there was a retail-trading frenzy around Digital World Acquisition Corp., a blank-check company that is set to merge with Trump Media & Technology Group to create a new social media platform called Truth Social. Digital World shares jumped more than 800% in the two sessions following the announcement.

       A second blank-check company, Benessere Capital Acquisition, jumped as much as 58% on Monday. Both companies are run by Patrick Orlando, a former Deutsche Bank AG derivatives trader who co-founded a sugar-trading company before more recently embracing SPACs.

       Then there is Phunware Inc. a software company that worked on Trump’s re-election campaign. Its shares rose 471% on Friday and extended gains on Monday.