A little-known Solana token calling itself “US Oil” (USOR) surged more than 150% in 24 hours on Monday, briefly pushing its market value over $40 million, as traders jumped on fresh news that the U.S. was selling Venezuelan oil blocks.
The token was among the most trending on CoinGecko, although on-chain analysts and traders warned that the rise bore classic signs of a speculative pump.
Geopolitics becomes a tradable meme
The rise coincided with increased geopolitical attention around oil. According to reports, Washington began the sale of seized Venezuelan oil assets today.
This macro backdrop seems to have spilled over into the crypto market, where traders quickly assigned a political narrative to USOR, despite there being no verified link to state oil reserves.
At the peak of the rise, USOR traded over $0.04, with a daily trading volume near $20 million.
The movement occurred almost with a vertical course, a pattern several traders pointed out as unusual.
USOR activity is concentrated in the Solana ecosystem, primarily through decentralized marketplaces like Meteora. Chart platforms showed “suspicious chart” alerts as volume and price surged sharply.
The project's website claims that USOR represents an “on-chain reserve index” that tokenizes U.S. oil reserves and refers to itself as oil-backed, U.S.-affiliated, and governed by public transparency.
The website, however, provides no verifiable documentation on custody, legal structure, or connection to official U.S. oil reserves.
There is also speculation that this token could be an insider project, as it was launched on the same platform as the TRUMP meme coin – Meteora.
Viral graphs, thin evidence, and increasing warning signals
At the same time, crypto Twitter was marked by strongly divided reactions.
Several crypto traders believed that the narrative was constructed to exploit concrete news, pointing to coordinated marketing, merged wallets, and a lack of organic accumulation.
Others warned that the token's branding mimics geopolitical news to execute a rug pull.
A widely shared post described USOR as “on-chain exposure to oil reserves from Venezuela,” a claim that has not been confirmed by U.S. authorities or energy agencies.
Several analysts counter that timing, branding, and price structure resemble previous politically charged meme coins, which surged on headlines before collapsing.
On-chain data shared by independent trackers showed that the supply is concentrated among a small number of wallets.
Bubble map graphics shared on X suggest that many of the largest holders are connected, raising concerns about centralized control and exit liquidity risk among late buyers.
All in all, USOR is yet another example of how quickly macroeconomic and political news finds its way as speculation in crypto.
While the U.S. maneuvers a complicated shift in its Venezuela strategy, parts of the crypto market seem ready to finance the narrative – often without evidence.
Whether USOR becomes a short-lived meme or something more lasting remains unclear. What is clear is that traders are once again racing to trade on the narrative, even as warnings grow louder that the story may not hold water.