Dinner with the president: Trump's meme coins are increasingly offered to top buyers.
Trump invites top coin buyers to dinner at a golf club.
$TRUMP has generated $350 million in fees, according to Chainalysis.
The White House eases law enforcement as the Trump family turns to cryptocurrency.
NEW YORK, April 23 (Reuters) - The meme of President Donald Trump surged more than 60% on Wednesday after a message announcing "the most EXCLUSIVE INVITATION in the world" promised the top 220 buyers of $TRUMP a private gala dinner with the president on May 22.
In addition to dinner at the Trump National Golf Club in Washington, DC, the top 25 holders will enjoy an "ultra-exclusive private VIP reception with the president" as well as a "special tour," according to the announcement.
The posting on a website promoting the $TRUMP coin is the latest in a series of cryptocurrency ventures undertaken by Trump and his family that have brought them hundreds of millions of dollars in fees alone.
The Trump family's businesses include a new cryptocurrency exchange, World Liberty Financial, as well as a pivot to cryptocurrency finance by Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT.O), the social media company in which the president holds a $3 billion stake.
Trump has promised to be the first "crypto president" of the United States, and his administration has quickly acted to reduce the enforcement of cryptocurrency rules and ease the regulatory framework of the sector.
The family's entry into the cryptocurrency sector, even as the president oversees a new oversight regime, has fueled concerns about potential conflicts of interest and influence peddling.
The dinner planned by Trump with $TRUMP coin holders is "a race to the bottom in presidential grift," said Tony Carrk, executive director of Accountable.US, a nonpartisan government ethics watchdog group.
"There has never been a clearer case of a president using his office to line his own pockets, nor a greater opportunity for special interests to buy the favor of an administration that could threaten the public interest," said Carrk.