President Trump will attend a dinner next month with the top holders of his meme coin, the token’s official website announced Wednesday.
The dinner with the president will be available to the top 220 holders of $TRUMP, the meme coin he unveiled shortly before taking office in January. The event, scheduled for May 22 at Trump's golf club near Washington, D.C., — is touted as an opportunity to hear “first-hand” from Trump about the future of cryptocurrency.
The top 25 holders will also receive an invitation to an “exclusive” reception with the president and a “special” White House tour, according to the website. It urges participants to “hold as much $TRUMP as you can” through May 12.
“The more $TRUMP you hold—and the longer you hold it—the higher Your Ranking will be,” the website reads.
Trump launched his meme coin just days before his Inauguration. It was closely followed by a similar token named after his wife, Melania Trump. The president’s token quickly surged in value in the days after its release, jumping from $10 to about $70 in the first 48 hours.
However, its value sank in the ensuing months. $TRUMP sat at around $9 as of Wednesday morning. It jumped up to nearly $15 on the dinner announcement.
Both $TRUMP and $MELANIA are considered meme coins, cryptocurrencies whose value is largely tied to the popularity of a specific person, group or internet trend. As a result, these tokens tend to be volatile assets.
The decision to launch the meme coins received a mixed response from the crypto world, despite broader alignment between the president and the industry. Some expressed concerns that the tokens could cast a negative light on Trump’s crypto efforts.
After fully embracing crypto during his 2024 campaign, Trump has become a key ally for the industry, appointing crypto-friendly candidates to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commerce Department and hosting industry leaders at the White House.
At the same time, the president’s various business ventures have continued to expand their footprint in the crypto industry, occasionally drawing scrutiny.
World Liberty Financial, the crypto venture launched by Trump and his sons last fall, announced plans to launch a dollar-back stablecoin last month. Trump Media & Technology Group, Truth Social’s parent company, also unveiled a new partnership with Crypto.com to launch a series of exchange traded funds (ETFs).
The Hill reached out to the White House for comment.
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