The Trump Coin dinner controversy: A fierce collision between the cryptocurrency market and political regulation
Last Thursday, Trump hosted a high-profile dinner at his golf club in Virginia for the biggest buyers of his personal meme coin "Trump Coin" ($TRUMP), which was promoted as "the most prestigious invitation in the world." However, the dinner failed to bring the expected continued benefits to "Trump Coin," which saw a 16% drop in price by Friday morning. Buyers spent a total of about $148 million for the opportunity to attend, illustrating the event's impact and controversy.
Disappointment behind the luxurious dinner
The dinner was star-studded, with 220 attendees, including social media influencers from the cryptocurrency space, executives like Sandy Carter from Unstoppable Domains, and former NBA star Lamar Odom. Odom praised Trump as "the greatest president" during the event while also promoting his token $ODOM. The top 25 holders of "Trump Coin" enjoyed a "super exclusive private VIP reception" and a "special VIP tour," which included a rare opportunity to visit the White House.
However, not all participants were satisfied. 25-year-old Nicholas Pinto was disappointed after being driven to the event in a Lamborghini by his father. He complained about the food being unappetizing, with only water and Trump-branded wine available, and as he doesn't drink, he could only have water, which was filled only once. Trump made a brief appearance at the dinner, Pinto noted that the president stayed for only 23 minutes, made a short speech reiterating his old cryptocurrency views, did not answer any questions, and left hurriedly by helicopter without taking photos with the winners of the "Trump Coin" holder competition or engaging with most of the 220 guests. Pinto also revealed that security at the dinner was lax, with no requirement to seal phones in RFID-blocking bags, and once Trump left, the staff seemed to lose interest in other matters. Despite the luxurious atmosphere, with many wearing Richard Mille watches, the mood was more subdued than expected, with many checking their phones for "Trump Coin" price fluctuations during dinner, and several had already sold their holdings.
Off-site protests and the regulatory game on Capitol Hill
Outside the dinner, about a hundred protesters gathered at the entrance of the Trump National Golf Club in Potomac Falls, Virginia, including Oregon Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley, who, along with New York Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, supports a new (Ending Cryptocurrency Corruption Act). The protest signs read "Cryptocurrency Corruption" and "Trump is a Traitor," expressing dissatisfaction with the dinner and Trump's cryptocurrency-related activities.
On Capitol Hill, "The Trump family's activities in the meme coin space have made my work in Congress more complicated," said Arkansas Republican Congressman French Hill. Hill is leading bipartisan negotiations on a stablecoin regulatory bill - the (Guiding and Establishing U.S. Stablecoin National Innovation Act) (GENIUS Act) - and believes the dinner distracted attention from beneficial work. The GENIUS Act now faces multiple risks, with a controversial amendment to limit credit card late fees added by Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley seen as a "poison pill" that could alienate banking allies and hinder the bill's final approval. Meanwhile, during the dinner, a group of Senate Democrats announced they would push for new provisions to prohibit the president and senior officials from profiting from cryptocurrency businesses while in office, which is undoubtedly a direct challenge to the USD1 stablecoin linked to Trump.
Trump Coin and the cryptocurrency empire behind it
"Trump Coin" has generated over $324 million in transaction fees since its debut in January, with approximately 80% of the token supply controlled by the Trump Group and its affiliates. The largest holder is cryptocurrency mogul Justin Sun, who faces fraud charges from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), currently holding over $22 million in "Trump Coin" and spending $75 million on the cryptocurrency project World Liberty Financial (WLFI) launched by Trump and his sons last September. Sun later posted that he was honored to attend the dinner and thanked Trump for his support of the industry.
Furthermore, the Trump family project WLFI has completed its token sale, raising a total of $550 million. Although White House AI and cryptocurrency czar David Sacks remains optimistic that stablecoin legislation will receive "bipartisan support," believing that providing legal clarity and a framework for stablecoins can create demand for government bonds, the political infighting surrounding Trump's cryptocurrency ventures greatly increases the risk of the U.S. missing out on regaining an advantage in the global digital payments race. While the White House attempts to separate Trump's presidential identity from his business persona, refusing to disclose the guest list, blockchain data and guest photos have revealed information about some participants, with most of the top 25 wallet holders using foreign exchanges, and over half of the wallets among the top 220 linked to offshore platforms. Even a Nasdaq-listed low-priced company, Freight Technologies, which spent $2 million to purchase Trump tokens to promote U.S.-Mexico trade policy, ranked 250th and failed to qualify for the dinner. The chain reaction sparked by the Trump Coin dinner has intensified the contradictions and games between the cryptocurrency market and political regulation, leaving the future trajectory of the U.S. cryptocurrency industry and related policy-making fraught with uncertainty.