"Family" with Trump? The "Sky-High Social Game" Behind TRUMP Coin

Authors: David Yaffe-Bellany, Matthew Goldstein, Eric Lipton

Organized by: BitpushNews

The Trump family will offer a private dinner to top investors in their meme coin TRUMP, a move that has driven a short-term surge in TRUMP's price, marking the family's latest attempt to profit from the crypto industry.

The flashy online announcement calls it 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 the top 220 investors by holdings of TRUMP coin (the cryptocurrency launched by the Trump family just before his inauguration).

On Wednesday local time, the website promoting this so-called "presidential meme coin" announced that the largest holders will get the chance 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 states, "Let the president know how much TRUMP you hold!"

For months, Trump's foray into the crypto space has sparked a rare ethical controversy in U.S. presidential history. While promoting digital currency to the public, Trump appointed regulators who would cut back on 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 skyrocketed over 60%, with investors scrambling to profit from the announcement.

"This is just unbelievable," said Corey Frayer, who was responsible for SEC crypto policy during the Biden administration. "They are putting 'pay-to-play' right on the table."

The business entities associated with Trump hold a significant amount of the token, meaning Trump himself could directly profit from each price increase (at least on paper). Trump and his business partners can also extract transaction fees from the token, with initial earnings nearing $100 million just from its launch in January.

Victoria Hanemann, a law professor at Creighton University, pointed out that this operation raises concerns that Trump and his business empire "may exploit presidential power for profit."

Trump's crypto ventures may benefit from crypto legislation being pushed by Congress, but they also complicate the political landscape surrounding the issue. Trump's relationship with cryptocurrency has angered pro-industry Democrats, as the legislation requires their support to pass in the Senate. House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill (R-Ark.) has been advocating for new rules favorable to cryptocurrency for years. He stated last month that the family's crypto enterprises 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 as potentially encouraging fraudulent behavior among meme coin promoters.

As president, Trump enjoys broad exemptions from conflict of interest laws, and he has previously mentioned this loophole. White House representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Eric Trump, who helps operate the TRUMP coin sponsor "Trump Organization," declined to comment.

Trump, who was previously skeptical of crypto, changed his stance during last year's campaign—when crypto companies were spending tens of millions to influence the 2024 election.

Last fall, Trump, along with his sons Donald Jr., Eric, and Barron, announced the formation of "World Liberty Financial," issuing a digital currency called WLFI. According to the company, 550 million of the 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.

But the most attention-grabbing project remains Trump's meme coin.

Three days before the inauguration, Trump announced the sale of the token on his social platform Truth Social. TRUMP's sales skyrocketed, making the incoming president a crypto billionaire on paper.

Meme coins typically experience wild fluctuations, and the price of TRUMP quickly crashed. Holders collectively lost over $2 billion.

The dinner announcement is clearly aimed at reigniting market enthusiasm.

When TRUMP was launched in January, a large number of tokens were allocated to project supporters. However, the issuance rules restricted these insiders from selling until last week, raising concerns that their sell-off could further depress the coin's price.

However, in the days leading up to the invitation release, the coin's price had gradually rebounded, and it surged rapidly after the announcement.

The TRUMP website has set up a leaderboard for large holders, essentially creating an online game for buyers to track their rankings in real-time. The website states that from April 23 to May 12, the top 220 average holders of TRUMP "will be invited to the dinner. The top 25 buyers will also be able to attend a presidential reception and a VIP tour of the White House before the dinner (currently, the 25th-ranked holder has about 4,000 tokens, worth approximately $54,000)."

"The more $TRUMP you hold—and the longer you hold it—the higher your ranking," the website emphasizes.

The site states that the dinner with Trump is scheduled for May 22 at Trump National Golf Club and calls it "the most exclusive invitation of a lifetime."

The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comments on the ethical implications of the dinner.