TRUMP Meme Coin Team Moves $19.6M of Tokens to Exchanges Ahead of Dinner with Donald Trump

The TRUMP (TRUMP) meme coin team has triggered alarm among investors after moving $19.6 million worth of tokens to major crypto exchanges, just days before a private dinner with Donald Trump for the token’s top 220 holders.

Lookonchain’s (LOOKS) on-chain data showed that the team sent 1.35 million TRUMP tokens to Binance (BNB), OKX, and Bybit (WBIT) in the past 24 hours. The deposits landed the same week that $300 million in TRUMP tokens are set to be unlocked from vesting and daily locks.

However, traders feared that the move by the TRUMP token team could be for market making reasons, and the timing of the deposits had traders on edge and bracing for a potential dump.

The tokens were being sent en-route to the named exchanges.

Credit: Lookonchain

The TRUMP tokens were also being deposited ahead of the upcoming dinner for the top 220 TRUMP meme coin holders on Sept. 5. One X user warned the tokens will likely be sold after the top holders have been finalized, while another warned of impending volatility.

When the deposits start, the real games usually aren't far behind. Watching closely

— Ryzz (@RyzzFi) April 29, 2025

While traders braced for a potential TRUMP selloff, US Senator Adam B. Schiff and Elizabeth (Liz) Warren launched an inquiry into the upcoming TRUMP holders’ dinner.

In a filing to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics Director, the democratic lawmakers requested an “urgent inquiry” regarding the President’s invitation to the top holders of TRUMP tokens for a private dinner at the White House.

The request came after noticing a "disturbing spike" in the crypto token's value.

The news of Trump's dinner with the top TRUMP holders was announced last week, with the TRUMP token price surging by 10% in 24 hours to trade at $124.84 at the time of writing. The token's market capitalization also increased by $100 million following the announcement.

The development comes as U.S. Senators and other officials are becoming increasingly interested in the role of cryptocurrencies in political finance. Earlier this year, a bipartisan group of Senators introduced legislation that would ban political candidates from accepting campaign contributions in cryptocurrencies.

However, the lawmakers are also interested in learning more about how foreign powers could be using cryptocurrencies to interfere in U.S. elections.

According to a 2023 report by the Center for International Political Economy at the University of Sussex, China and Russia are both investing heavily in developing their own digital currencies, which they could use to exert greater economic and political influence around the world.

The report's authors argue that the United States needs to take a more proactive approach to countering these threats. They recommend that Congress pass legislation to ban political candidates from accepting campaign contributions in cryptocurrencies and that the administration work with foreign governments to coordinate efforts to combat illicit financial flows.