Trump's cryptocurrency ventures make headlines after his meme coin project announces an exclusive dinner for top token holders

TLDR; A new project has announced an exclusive dinner with President Donald Trump for the top 220 holders of its $TRUMP token, a move that has seen the meme coin’s value surge over 50%.

The project, which launched in January with the former president’s image and name, is offering the meal at his golf club near Washington, D.C. on August 9. An elite reception for the top 25 token holders will precede the dinner, while the day after will feature a “VIP White House Tour” for those who remain in the top 220.

The project’s website features a leaderboard displaying the usernames of top buyers, with a snapshot of the top 220 wallets set to be taken at 12:00 AM ET on August 8. Those holding the $TRUMP token at that time will be invited to the dinner.

“The cuisine will be superb, the wine will flow, and the conversation will be even better,” the project promises in its announcement.

The project’s initiative has drawn criticism from Democratic lawmakers, with Senators Elizabeth Warren and Adam Schiff sending a letter to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics urging an investigation into what they described as potential “pay to play corruption.”

“This latest action raises grave ethics and legal concerns, including the severe risk that President Trump and other officials may be engaging in ‘pay to play’ corruption by selling presidential access,” the senators wrote in their letter.

Senator Chris Murphy called it “the most brazenly corrupt thing a President has ever done. Not close.”

Donating to charity

The project will also be accepting donations of $TRUMP tokens, which will be used to support the Trump Organization’s charitable foundation.

Donors can choose to contribute to the foundation or to a charity of their choice, with the collected tokens being burned to reduce the circulating supply.

The project’s token has seen a surge in recent days, rising over 50% to hit a high of $1,166 on Thursday. The token’s price had dropped to around $900 by Friday morning.

The project’s token is still relatively small compared to major cryptocurrencies, with a market capitalization of about $2.7 billion. However, the project’s initiative and Trump’s involvement have generated significant interest in the token.

The project’s announcement also stated that all major unlocks of insider-held tokens would be delayed by an additional 90 days.

Only 20% of the token supply is currently available for trading, with the remaining 80% held by insiders under a three-year vesting schedule. These lockup periods are designed to prevent what crypto enthusiasts call a “rug pull,” where project creators cash out quickly while other investors face losses from falling prices.

The extension pushes back the initial cliff and the next three months of daily vesting.

According to the project’s website, the Trump Organization and its affiliates control approximately 80% of the $TRUMP token. Since its January launch, trading activity has generated about $324.5 million in fees for insiders through the token’s built-in mechanism that routes a percentage of each trade to project-controlled wallets.

The project’s founders have not been publicly disclosed, although project leads are actively involved in the project’s community channels.

Earlier this year, First Lady Melania Trump also launched her own token, which briefly exceeded $2 billion in market value.

Like most meme tokens, neither the $TRUMP nor $MELANIA tokens offer any underlying product or service. Their value derives primarily from social media hype and speculation rather than utility or assets.

The Trump family is also backing World Liberty Financial, a decentralized finance venture that has already raised $550 million across two token sales since October.

Buyers are barred from reselling their tokens and receive no share of profits, while a Trump-affiliated entity is entitled to 75% of net revenue, including token sale proceeds, according to offering documents reviewed by CNBC.

The Securities and Exchange Commission issued guidance shortly after the release of the Trump-related tokens stating that meme tokens don’t qualify as securities, effectively shielding the projects from immediate regulatory oversight.

Trump was elected with substantial support from the cryptocurrency industry, which contributed tens of millions to the 2024 election. After opposing digital assets during his first term, Trump campaigned as a crypto champion in 2024, portraying Democrats as hostile to innovation.

The project’s initiative has sparked conversation and raised questions about the boundaries of political engagement in the Web3 space. As the project progresses, it will be interesting to observe how the project navigates these complexities and continues to engage with its community.output: This article is part of a series exploring the intersection of cryptocurrency and politics in the 2024 election. Read more here.