Trump invites "pay-to-win players" to a private dinner? The "sky-high social game" behind TRUMP coin.

"The more $TRUMP you hold and the longer you hold it, the higher your ranking will be."

Written by: David Yaffe-Bellany, Matthew Goldstein, Eric Lipton

Compiled and Organized by: BitpushNews

The Trump family will offer a private dinner to the top investors of their meme coin TRUMP, an invitation that has driven TRUMP to soar in the short term, marking the family's latest attempt to profit from the cryptocurrency industry.

This dazzling online announcement refers to it as the "most exclusive invitation in the world" — a rare opportunity to have a "private dinner" with Trump at his members-only golf club in Virginia, followed by a tour of the White House.

Each seat will be reserved for the top 220 investors holding TRUMP coins (the cryptocurrency launched by the Trump family on the eve of the inauguration).

On Wednesday local time, the website promoting the so-called "presidential meme coin" announced that the buyer with the largest holding will have the opportunity to meet with the president. This move essentially uses access to the White House as a bargaining chip to secure investment in Trump's crypto project.

"Dinner with President Trump and the TRUMP community!" The invitation states, "Let the President know how many TRUMP community dinners you hold! Let the President know how many TRUMP coins you hold!"

For months, Trump's involvement in the cryptocurrency space has sparked a rare ethical controversy in the history of U.S. presidents. While promoting digital currency to the public, Trump appointed regulators to reduce the enforcement of cryptocurrency laws and called for legislation to boost the industry's development in the United States.

As the news of the dinner spread on social media, the price of the meme coin skyrocketed by over 60%, and investors are frantically taking advantage of this news to profit.

"This is simply unbelievable," said Corey Frayer, who was responsible for SEC crypto policy during the Biden administration. "They have put 'quid pro quo' directly on the table."

Business entities linked to Trump hold a large amount of the token, which means that Trump himself can directly profit from each price increase (at least on paper). Trump and his business partners can also extract transaction fees from token trades, with revenue nearing 100 million dollars during the initial launch period in January.

Victoria Haneman, a law professor at Creighton University, pointed out that this operation raises concerns that Trump and his business empire "may profit from presidential power."

The Trump family's cryptocurrency ventures may benefit from the industry-backed crypto legislation that Congress is advancing, but they also complicate the political landscape surrounding the issue. Trump's relationship with cryptocurrency has angered pro-industry Democrats, as the legislation requires their support to pass in the Senate. House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill (Republican from Arkansas) has been pushing for new rules favorable to cryptocurrency for years. Last month, he stated that the family's cryptocurrency enterprises have made his work in Congress "more complicated."

Earlier this year, the SEC released official guidance stating that meme coins based on internet jokes or celebrity images would not be regulated by the agency. Crypto skeptics criticized this policy for potentially encouraging fraudulent behavior among meme coin promoters.

As president, Trump enjoyed broad exemptions from conflicts of interest regulations, and he himself has previously mentioned this loophole. The White House representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Eric Trump, who assists in operating the sponsor of the TRUMP coin, the "Trump Organization," declined to comment.

Former President Trump, who was once skeptical about cryptocurrencies, changed his stance during last year's campaign—at that time, crypto companies were spending tens of millions of dollars to influence the 2024 election.

Last autumn, Trump announced the establishment of "World Liberty Financial" with his sons Donald Jr., Eric, and Barron, issuing a digital currency called WLFI. According to the company, 550 million of the tokens have been sold so far.

Shortly thereafter, Trump's social media company Trump Media & Technology Group began offering cryptocurrency financial products to retail investors and announced a partnership with the trading platform Crypto.com.

But the most attention is still on Trump's meme coin project.

Three days before the inauguration ceremony, Trump announced the sale of the token on his social platform Truth Social. The sales of TRUMP surged instantly, making this incoming president a crypto billionaire on paper.

Meme coins often experience wild fluctuations, and the price of TRUMP has quickly collapsed. Holders have accumulated losses exceeding $2 billion.

The announcement of this dinner is clearly aimed at rekindling market enthusiasm.

In January, when TRUMP was launched, a large number of tokens were allocated to project supporters. However, the issuance rules restricted these insiders from selling until last week, raising concerns in the market about further price declines due to their sell-off.

However, in the days leading up to the invitation announcement, the price of the coin had gradually recovered, and after the announcement was made, it surged rapidly.

The TRUMP official website has established a leaderboard for large token holders, which is essentially an online game that allows buyers to track rankings in real-time. The website states that from April 23 to May 12, the top 220 holders of TRUMP's average positions will be invited to a banquet. The top 25 buyers will also have the opportunity to attend a presidential reception and a VIP tour of the White House before the dinner (currently, the 25th place holder holds approximately 4,000 tokens, worth about $54,000).

"The more $TRUMP you hold — and the longer you hold it — the higher your ranking will be," the website emphasizes.

The website claims that the dinner with Trump is scheduled to be held on May 22 at the Trump National Golf Club and refers to it as "the most exclusive invitation of a lifetime."

The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comments on the ethical implications of the dinner.