President Donald Trump has intensified his foray into the cryptocurrency world by announcing an exclusive gala dinner for the top investors in his digital currency, a move that has sent the price of his memecoin soaring while raising unprecedented questions about potential conflicts of interest in the White House.
The $TRUMP memecoin, launched by the president just days before his January inauguration, jumped more than 70% following Wednesday’s announcement that the coin’s 220 largest holders would receive invitations to what the promotional website called “the most EXCLUSIVE INVITATION in the world” – a private dinner with Trump at his National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, on May 22.
According to the announcement, the top 25 $TRUMP holders will also receive access to “an ultra-exclusive private VIP reception with the President” and a special tour of the White House, effectively offering unprecedented presidential access in exchange for investment in Trump’s personal crypto venture.
“Have Dinner with President Trump and the $TRUMP Community!” the invitation on the coin’s official website stated boldly. “Let the President know how many $TRUMP coins YOU own!”
The $TRUMP token’s price, which had fallen significantly from its January peak of $74, rebounded to approximately $14 after the announcement. The total value of Trump tokens in circulation is currently estimated at around $2.5 billion, according to cryptocurrency trading data.
This invitation-only event represents an escalation of Trump’s increasingly intertwined political and financial involvement with cryptocurrencies since taking office in January. The president, who previously expressed skepticism about digital currencies, has rapidly transformed into what he now calls himself – “the crypto president.”
“This is really incredible,” said Corey Frayer, who oversaw crypto policy for the Securities and Exchange Commission during the Biden administration. “They are making the pay-to-play deal explicit.”
The dinner announcement appears strategically timed. Last week marked the end of a lock-up period that had prevented insiders who received allocations during the initial launch from selling their coins. Rather than triggering a selloff, the price has climbed as the announcement approached.
The website created a leaderboard tracking the largest investors, explicitly encouraging larger and longer-term investments to secure a higher ranking and access to the dinner. “The more $TRUMP you hold — and the longer you hold it — the higher Your Ranking will be,” the website stated. Currently, the 25th-ranked investor holds approximately 4,000 coins, worth about $54,000.
A business entity linked to Trump reportedly owns a substantial portion of these coins, meaning the president personally benefits from price increases. Additionally, Trump and his business partners collect fees each time the coins are traded, reportedly generating nearly $100 million in the weeks following the January launch.
The $TRUMP token is just one component of Trump’s expanding crypto portfolio. Earlier this week, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), which owns the Truth Social platform, announced plans to launch exchange-traded funds (ETFs) focused on digital assets and “Made in America” stocks through a partnership with Crypto.com.
The president and his sons Donald Jr., Eric, and Barron are also backers of World Liberty Financial, which offers a digital currency called WLFI. According to company information, the venture has sold approximately $550 million worth of these coins. Last month, World Liberty announced plans to launch a stablecoin backed by short-term U.S. Treasuries and cash equivalents.
Trump’s administration has moved quickly to implement crypto-friendly policies since taking office. In January, the president signed an executive order directing the executive branch to work with Congress on improved crypto regulation while blocking development of a central bank digital currency. In March, he signed a second order establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a Digital Asset Stockpile for other cryptocurrencies.
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The Securities and Exchange Commission under Trump has dropped several major lawsuits against cryptocurrency companies that were initiated during the Biden administration. In the case of Binance, a crypto exchange previously sued by the SEC, the case was put on hold after Trump took office. Binance is now partnering with World Liberty Financial to issue stablecoins.
The SEC also recently issued guidance stating that memecoins – cryptocurrencies based on internet jokes or celebrity mascots – will not be subject to agency oversight, a move critics have warned could enable fraud by memecoin promoters.
Victoria Haneman, a law professor at Creighton University, expressed concern about the ways Trump and his businesses “may maneuver to profit off the presidency.” While presidents have broad immunity from conflict-of-interest laws, the explicit linking of financial investment with presidential access has little precedent in modern politics.
When $TRUMP was first released in January, traders who accumulated the coin suffered more than $2 billion in cumulative losses as the price rapidly rose and then plummeted, following the volatile pattern typical of memecoins. The dinner announcement appears calculated to reignite interest and trading activity in the token.
First Lady Melania Trump has also launched her own cryptocurrency venture, releasing a token on the eve of the inauguration, further cementing the Trump family’s embrace of digital assets.
The cryptocurrency industry has welcomed Trump’s support after pouring tens of millions of dollars into the 2024 election. The president has hosted crypto executives at the White House for an exclusive summit and appointed officials who are scaling back regulatory enforcement against digital asset companies.
Trump’s push into cryptocurrencies comes as Congress considers legislation that could create a new regulatory framework for stablecoin issuers, potentially opening these digital currencies to wider mainstream acceptance.
Representatives for the White House did not respond to requests for comment on potential conflicts of interest related to the dinner invitation. Eric Trump, who helps run the Trump Organization, a sponsor of the $TRUMP coin, declined to comment when approached by reporters.
The $TRUMP memecoin venture has already been criticized by several figures in the cryptocurrency industry itself, with some dismissing it as “a stunt” that damages the credibility of legitimate digital asset projects.
As the May 22 dinner approaches, the leaderboard of top investors continues to fluctuate, with some crypto analysts suggesting the announcement has triggered a race among wealthy Trump supporters and crypto speculators to acquire enough tokens to secure an invitation.
For a president who has consistently blurred the lines between his business interests and political office, the memecoin dinner represents perhaps the most direct monetization of White House access yet, creating a literal price tag for a seat at the president’s table – currently valued at approximately $54,000 worth of $TRUMP tokens for the most exclusive access.
Whether this unprecedented melding of presidential power with personal financial gain will face legal challenges remains to be seen, but the invitation has certainly achieved its apparent goal of boosting the memecoin’s value while strengthening Trump’s self-proclaimed identity as “the crypto president.”
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