‘Patently false and irresponsible’: TikTok slams Rep. Sherman over $300 million Trump memecoin accusation

TikTok pushed back against accusations from Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., that its owners were buying $300 million worth of TRUMP memecoins as a "bribe" in reference to its looming U.S. ban.

Sherman made the allegation  on Thursday night on X , referencing the bipartisan Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, signed into law in April 2024. The law required ByteDance to divest TikTok's U.S. operations by January 19. However, President Trump has used executive orders to grant three separate 90-day extensions, most recently on  June 19 , attempting to push the deadline to September while negotiations for a U.S. sale continue.

Sherman and others pointed out that the Supreme Court had only granted the president a one-time extension of no more than 90 days.

"The law allows only one single extension, so Trump's failure to enforce it is illegal," Sherman posted. "However, the Chinese owners of TikTok have announced they are buying 'Trump Coins' for $300 million. Trump creates 'Trump Coins' at no cost, meaning this is just a $300 million bribe that goes right into his pocket."

TikTok swiftly rejected the claim. "Congressman, claiming that the owners of TikTok are buying 'Trump Coins' is patently false and irresponsible and doesn't even accurately reflect a letter you signed last month," the TikTok U.S.-affiliated official policy account replied early Friday.

The accusation also appears to be a misunderstanding on Sherman's part, with the TRUMP memecoin acquisition plan seemingly related to another firm rather than TikTok. In May, Nasdaq-listed GD Culture Group said it had signed a stock purchase agreement with a British Virgin Islands-based investor to sell up to $300 million worth of shares as part of its crypto treasury strategy, which includes buying bitcoin and the Official Trump memecoin. GDC is up around 30% since that announcement, according to TradingView .

GD Culture Group is a small, $47 million market cap, publicly traded company based in Nevada, with a China-based subsidiary, and does not have any official ties to TikTok's parent company, ByteDance. While GD Culture Group's AI-powered digital-human services, livestream commerce, interactive games, and content production are deeply centered around the TikTok platform, that's as far as the connection appears to extend.

The Block reached out to Congressman Sherman's office and TikTok for further comment.