The $TRUMP meme coin developers have defended the upcoming dinner with President Donald Trump, stating that no $300,000 fee is required to attend the event.
The clarification comes after rumors swirled that had people thinking participants were forced to shell out thousands to sit at a dinner with President Donald Trump.
The confusion seems to have been set off by a series of Trump-related promotions, including NFT sales and fundraising events that offered high-paying supporters exclusive experiences.
The statement came in the wake of a 71% surge in the $TRUMP token’s value, sparked by the initial announcement of the dinner event.
Due to happen at the Trump National Golf Club in Washington, DC, on May 22, the dinner will be open to the top 220 holders of the $TRUMP coin. The top 25 holders will receive additional benefits, including a VIP reception and a special tour.
Despite reports that an expensive ticket price had been set, the $TRUMP coin team has claimed there is no cost to attend the dinner directly. All are eligible, based only on how many $TRUMP coins a user holds from May 12 to April 23.
“Our leaderboard updates hourly in real time. Your $TRUMP coin count puts you in the running. The market is highly competitive. Own $TRUMP — or watch from the sidelines,” according to the website marketing the coin.
Crypto dinner invite sparks price surge
Trump and his wife, Melania, debuted meme coins just days before his inauguration, although both tokens have lost much of their value since their debuts. The $MELANIA meme coin now sells for about 49 cents each, down from a peak of $13.76 on Jan. 20.
Dubbed the “MAGACOIN” project, the $TRUMP meme coin from President Donald Trump’s camp has stirred buzz across the internet and markets.
The $TRUMP meme coin website made a splashy announcement Wednesday inviting the token’s top 220 holders to an “intimate private dinner” with Trump.
The value of the $TRUMP token exploded after the announcement. It soared to $14.32 at one point, recovering some ground from a sharp decline. The coin had surged to a high of $75.35 on January 19, the day before Trump’s inauguration. By mid-April, it had plunged 88%.
The site stated that the dinner would be an opportunity for attendees to hear directly from President Trump about the future of cryptocurrency. A promotional video posted on X, formerly Twitter, echoed this message in the style of a flashy music video, featuring quick cuts of Trump, gold coins, and promises of exclusive access.
Critics slam Trump’s crypto dinner as unethical power grab
Although the $TRUMP Token team has tried to quell the storm concerning the event, the criticism hasn’t gone away. Ethics experts and lawmakers of both Democratic and Republican parties are raising alarms.
Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) described the dinner promotion as the president’s most openly corrupt act ever.
At the same time, the watchdog group Accountable.US, a nonpartisan advocacy group focused on corporate and government ethics, called it an open invitation for investors to buy access to Trump. Tony Carrk, the group’s executive director, said in a statement that Mr. Trump “is openly inviting investors to have a bidding war over who can buy the most access to him while he laughs all the way to the bank.”
The structure of the $TRUMP token has also drawn a magnified gaze. Public transparency records reveal that entities closely tied to Donald Trump control nearly 80% of the total token supply—raising red flags about centralization and potential manipulation, issues that many in the crypto community strive to avoid.
The upcoming event occurs when Trump increasingly uses cryptocurrency to spread his campaign message. He has pledged to make the US the leader of the crypto revolution.
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