From dinner to watches, how US president Donald Trump made $320 million off the meme coin
Meme coins are typically dismissed as internet jokes with no real value, but the Trump family is leveraging one such coin—$TRUMP—into a powerful political and financial tool. Since its launch earlier this year, the Trump-themed cryptocurrency has generated over
$320 million in fees
, according to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.
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The coin's popularity surged further after Trump promoted a dinner event scheduled for
May 22
at his Washington-area golf club. Access is based on how many $TRUMP coins a user holds.
Crypto for a Seat at the Table
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According to the contest rules:
The
top 220
coin holders will be invited to dinner with Trump.
The
top 25
will also gain access to a pre-dinner reception with the former president.
'Let the President know how many $TRUMP coins YOU own!' the coin's website urges.
Live Events
Following the announcement, both
trading volume and the coin's price spiked
, rising from $9 to $14 before settling around $11.
How the Trumps Profit Without Selling Coins
The $TRUMP coin is traded on decentralized exchanges (DEXs), which use
liquidity pools
to facilitate trades. When the coin launched, 20% of the total 1 billion coins were released—half for public sale, and half into a liquidity pool.
Through this setup,
CIC Digital
, a Trump Organization affiliate, earns a share of
trading fees
on every coin exchange. These fees, although tiny per transaction, have added up rapidly. In the week following the dinner announcement, Chainalysis reported over
$1.3 million in trading fees
alone.
As Nicolai Søndergaard of blockchain analytics firm Nansen explained, 'The price doesn't matter—what matters is constant trading volume, because more trades mean more fees.'
Trump Downplays Profit Motives
Despite the windfall, Trump has brushed off concerns over financial gain. In an interview with
Meet the Press
, he denied tracking the coin's value and dismissed the notion that he should forgo any crypto profits.
'Should I contribute all of my real estate... if it goes up a little bit because I'm president and doing a good job? I don't think so,' he said.
High-Stakes Promotion and Luxury Prizes
The Trump coin team is aggressively marketing the May 22 dinner:
Last week, they launched a meme contest, promising one additional dinner spot to the creator of Trump's favorite meme.
The
top four holders
will also receive Trump-branded watches valued at
$100,000
each.
Opaque Access and Ethics Concerns
While Trump is also hosting a
'Crypto & AI Innovators' dinner
at the same venue—with a $1.5 million per-person price tag via his super PAC—there's no requirement to disclose who buys their way into the meme coin event.
That anonymity has drawn criticism. Unlike political donations, crypto holdings and transactions are
not subject to public disclosure
, raising concerns about undue influence from anonymous or foreign actors.
Even though registrants must provide real names and contact info, the
$TRUMP leaderboard
displays only usernames. Eligibility is based not just on the number of coins held, but also the duration of ownership.
For those just outside the top 220, the site leaves a message:
"You're so close. FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT for your $TRUMP dinner."
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