Authors: David Yaffe-Bellany, Matthew Goldstein, Eric Lipton
Compiled by: BitpushNews
The Trump family will offer a private dinner to top investors in their meme coin TRUMP, a move that propelled TRUMP to soar in the short term, marking the family's latest attempt to profit from the crypto industry.
This dazzling online announcement refers to it as the 'most exclusive invitation in the world'—a rare opportunity to have a 'private dinner' with Trump at his members-only golf club in Virginia, followed by a tour of the White House.
Each seat will be reserved for investors ranked in the top 220 by the amount of TRUMP coins (the cryptocurrency launched by the Trump family on the eve of the inauguration).
On Wednesday local time, the website promoting this so-called 'presidential meme coin' announced that the largest token holders would have the opportunity to meet with the president. This move essentially trades access to the White House for investments in Trump's crypto project.
'Dine with President Trump and the TRUMP community!' the invitation reads, 'Let the president know how much TRUMP you hold!'
For months, Trump's involvement in the crypto space has triggered a rare ethical controversy in U.S. presidential history. While promoting digital currency to the public, Trump appointed regulatory officials to reduce crypto enforcement and called for legislation to boost the industry's development in the U.S.
As news of the dinner spread on social media, the price of the meme coin surged over 60%, with investors frantically capitalizing on this news.
'This is simply unbelievable,' said Corey Frayer, who was responsible for SEC crypto policy during the Biden administration, 'They have directly put 'quid pro quo' on the table.'
Business entities associated with Trump hold a significant amount of this token, meaning Trump himself can directly profit from each price increase (at least on paper). Trump and his business partners can also extract fees from token transactions, with earnings close to $100 million just in the initial month after launch in January.
Creighton University law professor Victoria Haneman pointed out that this operation raises concerns that Trump and his business empire 'may exploit presidential powers for profit.'
Trump family's crypto businesses may benefit from industry-supported crypto legislation currently advancing in Congress, but they also complicate the political landscape surrounding the issue. Trump's relationship with cryptocurrency has angered pro-industry Democrats, as legislation needs their support to pass in the Senate. House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill (Republican from Arkansas) has been pushing for new rules favorable to cryptocurrency for years. He stated last month that the family's cryptocurrency businesses make his work in Congress 'more complicated.'
Earlier this year, the SEC issued official guidance stating that meme coins based on internet jokes or celebrity images would not be regulated by the agency. Crypto skeptics criticized this policy for potentially enabling fraudulent behavior by meme coin promoters.
As president, Trump enjoys broad exemptions from conflict of interest regulations, and he has previously mentioned this loophole. White House representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Eric Trump, who assists in operating the TRUMP coin sponsor 'Trump Organization,' declined to comment.
Once skeptical of cryptocurrency, Trump shifted his stance during last year's campaign—when crypto companies were spending tens of millions of dollars to influence the 2024 election.
Last fall, Trump, along with his sons Donald Jr., Eric, and Barron, announced the establishment of 'World Liberty Financial,' which issues a digital currency named WLFI. According to the company, 550 million of these tokens have been sold so far.
Shortly thereafter, Trump's social media company, Trump Media & Technology Group, began offering crypto financial products to retail investors and announced a partnership with the trading platform Crypto.com.
However, the most attention is still focused on Trump's meme coin project.
Three days before the inauguration, Trump announced the sale of the token on his social platform Truth Social. TRUMP sales surged instantly, making the incoming president a crypto billionaire on paper.
Meme coins typically experience wild fluctuations, and the price of TRUMP quickly crashed. Holders have collectively lost over $2 billion.
The announcement of this dinner is clearly aimed at reigniting market enthusiasm.
When TRUMP was launched in January, a large number of tokens were distributed to project supporters. However, issuance rules restricted these insiders from selling until last week, raising concerns in the market about further price declines due to their sell-off.
However, in the days leading up to the invitation, the coin's price had gradually rebounded and skyrocketed following the announcement.
The TRUMP official website has established a leaderboard for large token holders, essentially an online game that allows buyers to track their rankings in real time. The website states that from April 23 to May 12, 'the top 220 average holding amounts of TRUMP will be invited to the dinner. The top 25 buyers will also be able to attend a presidential reception before the dinner and a VIP tour of the White House (currently, the 25th ranked holder has about 4,000 tokens, worth about $54,000).
'The more $TRUMP you hold—and the longer you hold it—the higher your ranking will be,' the website emphasizes.
The website states that the dinner with Trump is scheduled for May 22 at the Trump National Golf Club, referring to it as 'the most exclusive invitation of a lifetime.'
The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the ethical implications of the dinner.
