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Data reveals that buyers of the $TRUMP meme coin collectively spent over $140 million in a bid to secure an invitation to an exclusive dinner with former President Donald Trump.
On April 23, the digital currency experienced a surge in interest following the announcement that the top 220 holders as of May 12 would be invited to dine with the president. This news triggered a rise in the meme coin’s value by more than 40% from the announcement date through May 12, partially recovering from an 88% decline in the preceding weeks.
According to an analysis by Inca Digital, the top holders of the $TRUMP meme coin invested amounts ranging from $53,500 to $16.4 million to qualify for one of the coveted dinner invites with Mr. Trump.
As of May 12, the largest holder of the digital currency was an account named Sun VIP, the analysis showed. The identities of account owners remain anonymous due to the nature of digital wallets, but Inca’s research indicates that many purchases were made through exchanges such as Bybit and Gate.io, which typically don’t accept U.S. customers.
“A ton of these users sent funds to international exchanges,” noted Austin Ryan, director of marketing for Inca Digital. “The thought is that if they are interacting with those exchanges, they are not in the U.S.”
The dinner contest has sparked concerns from government watchdogs and Democratic lawmakers regarding the potential link between purchases of a Trump-branded asset and access to the president. Critics also point out that because the $TRUMP coin is partly owned by an affiliate of the Trump Organization, Mr. Trump and his family could financially benefit from purchases of the meme coin.
The $TRUMP meme coin site has not disclosed the identities of the top 220 holders who are in line to dine with Mr. Trump. Tony Carrk, executive director of Accountable.US, raised concerns about these holders being “shrouded by their anonymous crypto usernames.”
Neither the White House nor the Trump Organization has issued an immediate response to requests for comment.
The dinner is scheduled to take place on May 22 at the Trump National Golf Club in Washington, D.C., according to the $TRUMP meme coin website. The top 25 holders will “will enjoy a Private VIP Reception with President TRUMP” as well as a “Special VIP TOUR,” the site adds.
Back in January, Eric Trump described the $TRUMP coin as “the hottest digital meme on earth.”
How Trump Profits from His Meme Coin
Decentralization is a core principle of cryptocurrency. Bitcoin, the world’s leading crypto, emerged after the 2008 financial crisis as a digital currency intended to be free from control by banks or governments.
$TRUMP meme coins can be traded on a decentralized exchange, where users can swap assets without intermediaries.
Instead of directly matching buyers and sellers, decentralized exchanges utilize liquidity pools to facilitate easy and instant trades. These pools are automated collections of funds that pair meme coins like $TRUMP with more established crypto assets.
Upon the initial launch of the $TRUMP meme coin, its creators released 20% of the planned 1 billion total coins. Half of this 20% was offered for public sale, while the other half was placed into a liquidity pool. CIC Digital, an affiliate of the Trump Organization, and Fight Fight Fight, receive “trading revenue derived from trading activities” related to the Trump meme coins, as stated on their website.
Through the liquidity pool, the creators of Mr. Trump’s meme coins earn revenue by charging small transactional fees on each trade.