Trump's Cryptocurrency Promises New Levels of Melding US Presidential Power and Personal Business

The unprecedented melding of US presidential power and personal business took place at Trump's golf club outside Washington DC, where Trump flew by helicopter to meet the 220 biggest purchasers of his $TRUMP memecoin.

The unprecedented melding of US presidential power and personal business took place at Trump's golf club outside Washington DC, where Trump flew by helicopter to meet the 220 biggest purchasers of his $TRUMP memecoin.

The top 25 investors, according to an event website, were to get a private session with Trump beforehand and a White House tour.

Trump launched the memecoin three days before his inauguration in January, quickly increasing his net worth by billions and prompting major, first-of-their-kind ethics questions.

The White House downplayed those concerns Thursday, insisting Trump was attending in his "personal time."

The president posted on his Truth Social platform ahead of the event that "the U.S.A. is DOMINATING in Crypto, Bitcoin, etc." and pledged to "keep it that way."

Photos posted online by attendees to the dinner – press were not allowed inside – showed a lectern sporting the presidential seal, apparently for Trump to deliver remarks.

Protesters gathered outside the golf club despite rainy skies, some carrying signs reading "stop crypto corruption" and "no kings."

Earlier in the day, Democratic senators held a press conference to denounce the event and call for disclosure of who would be attending.

Calling the dinner "an orgy of corruption," Senator Elizabeth Warren slammed Trump for "using the presidency of the United States to make himself richer through crypto."