This photo illustration shows the representation of the $Trump meme coin in Brussels, Belgium

Senators Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) have formally requested a federal ethics investigation into President Trump's offering of private access to investors in the TRUMP meme coin.

The request, made in a letter to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics on April 25, follows an earlier report by The Block.

The senators raised legal concerns about the prospect of selling presidential access through digital asset investments.

President Trump's campaign announced plans on April 23 for an exclusive gala and reception at Trump National Golf Club in Washington, D.C., inviting the top 220 TRUMP meme coin holders.

The top 25 holders were promised a VIP reception, while all invitees were offered a chance to hear directly from the president.

The announcement triggered a swift market response. Within 24 hours, TRUMP's price climbed approximately 60%, adding over $100 million in new investment to the meme coin.

One address linked to the Chinese-founded exchange HTX, holding over $13 million in tokens, became the largest investor. However, the TRUMP team clarified that exchange holdings would not count toward the leaderboard placements.

At the time of the announcement, the 220th largest validated holder of TRUMP tokens was valued at around $420. As of press time, this has surged to $18,480, with VIP slots requiring a holding of $1,422,732 to meet the president.

The top holder, an account listed as 'Sun' on the leaderboard, holds $13,898,508 in TRUMP meme coin tokens.

The token price has now settled around $12.40, up 71% from the $7 price point prior to the dinner announcement, creating a market cap of $2.48 billion.

Concerns Over Foreign Participation in TRUMP Meme Coin Dinner

In addition to the dinner offer, over $350 million has flowed to entities associated with the president since the meme coin's launch. Promises of exclusive access and the token's sharp price movement have raised concerns among ethics specialists and lawmakers.

Senator Schiff's letter warned that the situation may implicate federal bribery statutes and constitutional emoluments provisions.

As noted in the senators' filing, foreign participation is also a focus, given that some investors appear to have routed purchases through Binance and other platforms restricting U.S. users.

While the OGE issued guidance in 2023 defining certain crypto holdings as disqualifying financial interests for federal employees, the rules did not explicitly address sitting presidents.

This leaves a regulatory gap potentially relevant to the current situation. Trump's representatives, however, pushed back. The White House stated that the president's assets are managed by his family in a trust, denying any conflict of interest.

President's Crypto Empire Expands to Beyond Trump Meme Coin

The TRUMP dinner offer coincides with broader Trump-linked crypto ventures.

In March, Trump's family announced plans to introduce USD1, a stablecoin marketed by World Liberty Financial, the DeFi project part-owned by the Trump Family.

Since its launch, USD1 has minted over $2 billion in tokens, leading to a 30% increase in stablecoin supply across Binance's BNB Chain.

World Liberty Financial has also engaged in complex deals with at least five other crypto projects: Sui, Ethena, Ondo, and Tron. These deals involved projects buying large amounts of World Liberty's own coin in exchange for smaller purchases of the startups' tokens.

Trump's sons, Eric and Donald Jr., acquired a minority stake in a new bitcoin mining company, American Bitcoin. Eric Trump is the company's chief strategy officer, and it is planning a public listing.

Trump Media & Technology Group, where Trump is the largest shareholder, has announced plans to launch crypto-focused ETFs in partnership with Crypto.com. These ETFs will include baskets of cryptocurrencies and "Made in America" securities.

Reaction to Trump Meme Coin Gala Dinner

Combined with the meme coin's market performance, these initiatives have attracted attention beyond typical campaign finance issues, drawing criticism from governance watchdogs.

Accountable.US described the arrangement to Reuters as a "race to the