Washington – President Donald Trump and his allies have collected nearly $ 900,000 in negotiation costs in the past two days from the president's cryptocurrency token, according to Chainalysis, a Blockchain data company.
The wave occurred after a Wednesday announcement in which the 220 best holders of the token were promised with the president.
“Dinner in Washington, DC with President Trump”, reads a message On the first page of the Trump Coin website. The event, which is an optional black tie and organized at the president's private club in the Washington region, is scheduled for May 22, with a reception for the 25 best holders. A “VIP VIP visit” will take place the next day, says the site. The website also hosts an active classification with user names for the best buyers.
The $ Trump Memecoin jumped more than 50% in dinner news, increasing its total market value to 2.7 billion dollars. He was criticized fiercely of some of Trump's political opponents who declared that this decision was additional proof that the president used the crypto to get rich. Senator Chris Murphy, D-Conn., An eminent critic of Trump, wrote on X that the sale was “the most corrupt thing that a president has ever made. Not narrow”.
About 80% of the $ Trump tokens offer is controlled by the Trump organization and the affiliates, according to the project website. Since its launch in January, commercial activity has generated around $ 324.5 million in negotiation costs against initiates, the analysis channel has revealed. These costs are generated by the integrated token mechanism which sees a percentage of each profession to portfolios controlled by the project – portfolios which, according to the website, are linked to the creators of the room.
The same, often called memes tokens, are a subset of digital assets that use blockchain technology and derive their value largely from internet culture, memes and social media threshing rather than a utility or an underlying asset. Memecoins creators can pay for when their parts are purchased and sold.
They have gained popularity in recent years as speculative agents, with certain pieces, including Dogecoin and Fartcoin, amassing the total market value of more than $ 1 billion.
Most of the $ Trump offer remains locked as part of a three -year acquisition plan, the coins being gradually available over time. Locking like these are intended to protect investors by preventing initiates from suddenly taking advantage – a program commonly known in the world of cryptography as a “carpet traction”. The acquisition hours aim to give retail buyers the confidence that the first holders will not overwhelm the market and disembark the value of the token.
However, the dinner competition is considered by criticism as an unusual attempt to monetize presidential access.
As CNBC reported it on Friday, the Democratic Sens Adam Schiff of California and Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts urge the US Office of Ethics of the Government to investigate whether the promotion constitutes “the salary to play” in corruption.
The White House did not respond to a request for comments. The company behind the same did not respond to a request for comments.
Delaney Marsco, director of ethics of the Legal Center campaign, a non -profit organization focused on the financing of campaigns and government responsibility, told NBC News that the competition for coins and dinner was an unprecedented ethical violation – although it is not likely to be illegal.
“The criminal statutes of interest conflicts do not apply to the president,” she said. “This allowed him to go against decades of standards to which each modern president since Carter has joined, which consists in giving in your financial interests, getting rid of your businesses and going to the presidency with a clean financial slate so that no one can accuse you of manipulating political decisions or using your position to enrich yourself.”
“The fact that it is not prohibited by law to have these financial interests as this play of the same allows him to engage in many apparently corrupt activities. He has the appearance of a salary to play, so the president apparently sells access to himself,” added Marsco.
Molly White, an independent crypto researcher, told NBC News that the classification shows only the best holders of $ Trump – and only by their chosen screen name, which makes it difficult to identify who pays to potentially join dinner.
Schiff and Warren have cited public reports showing that some Trump $ investors have links with foreign exchanges or have received funds from cryptographic platforms in the United States, including Binance.
White has also noted that at least one Top $ Trump owner has an account on Binance, a cryptocurrency company that does not allow American users.
Trump was elected with significant help from the cryptocurrency industry, which poured tens of millions of dollars In the 2024 elections, going beyond business donations from traditional sectors such as bank and oil. After opposing digital assets during his first mandate, Trump pivoted in 2024 to campaign as cryptocurrency champion, throwing democrats as hostile to innovation and pleading for more strict regulations.
The token $ Trump itself offers no product or service, according to the project website. This is part of a broader thrust of the Trump family in digital assets, despite the volatility and regulatory risks of the market.
In addition to the pieces even $ Trump and Melania, the family supports World Liberty Financial, a decentralized financial company that has raised $ 550 million in two token sales since last October. Buyers are prohibited to resell their tokens and receive no share of profits – but an entity affiliated to Trump is right to 75% of net incomeIncluding the product for the sale of tokens.
Together, these projects have created new income flows for Trump and his inner circle at a time when the regulatory surveillance of cryptocurrency was strongly weakened under his administration.
