Illustration of cryptocracy cash with the $Trump meme coin and bitcoin on this picture illustration in Brussels, Belgium, on Feb. 8, 2026.
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President Donald Trump hosted winners of his second annual meme coin contest at his Mar-a-Lago membership in Palm Seashore, Florida, on Saturday, providing prime patrons of his $TRUMP cryptocurrency an viewers with him even because the token’s worth has plunged greater than 95% from its peak final yr.
The gala occurred as scrutiny of the Trump household’s broader crypto ventures has intensified, with Democratic leaders calling for investigations.
The 297 largest $TRUMP token holders who registered for the competition attended a gathering that Trump has billed because the “most unique” crypto and enterprise convention on the earth, the place he gave the keynote deal with. The highest 29 additionally attended a “particular VIP reception and champagne toast” with the president.
The day-long occasion is the newest instance of Trump mixing presidential stature along with his household’s rising portfolio of speculative crypto ventures — a convergence authorities ethics specialists say has little trendy precedent, significantly since Trump’s private crypto wealth has ballooned as he reshapes U.S. crypto coverage.
Trump’s look on the gala was not open to the general public. However he later informed reporters that he felt an “obligation” to assist the crypto business.
“As a president, I’ve to have the ability to ensure that all of our industries do effectively,” Trump stated earlier than he boarded Air Power One on Saturday afternoon for his return to Washington, D.C. “Crypto is an enormous business, it is truly turn into considerably mainstream.”
Whereas many retail patrons who piled into the token round its launch have seen most of their paper good points disappear, the Trump household and affiliated entities have continued to revenue from the broader crypto ecosystem.
A Reuters examination discovered that the household has taken in additional than $1 billion from crypto asset gross sales, together with not less than $336 million tied to meme-coin gross sales within the first half of 2025 alone, with probably billions extra in unrealized good points.
“President Trump’s property are in a belief managed by his youngsters,” White Home spokesperson Anna Kelly informed Reuters, including that the president solely acts in the perfect pursuits of the American public. “There are not any conflicts of curiosity.”
Final yr’s meme-coin contest, at his golf membership close to Washington, D.C., raised comparable issues for ethics specialists, as did a February convention at Mar-a-Lago hosted by the president’s sons, Eric and Don Jr., for World Liberty Monetary, the Trump household’s most profitable crypto enterprise, which drew prime figures from Washington, D.C., and Wall Road.
Contest rankings have been based mostly not solely on holdings of $TRUMP but additionally on purchases of Trump-branded merchandise — together with sneakers, watches and fragrances — between March 12 and April 14. Winners are set to obtain Trump-branded gadgets, together with a commemorative poster, two buying and selling playing cards, a “Struggle Struggle Struggle Pink Magnificence” watch, and a perfume.
$TRUMP token close to lows
The $TRUMP token is hovering close to its all-time lows and is down sharply from the $75 excessive reached shortly after its introduction in January 2025.
Late on Friday, $TRUMP was buying and selling at roughly $3. As Trump spoke, it fell to $2.53 amid a flurry of buying and selling on Saturday morning and remained beneath $2.60 after he left Florida.
The 297 qualifying winners maintain roughly $29 million value of $TRUMP, in accordance with crypto analytics agency Nansen, far beneath the $148 million Reuters reported they held for the inaugural Could 2025 contest.
“The distinction with final yr’s launch is stark,” in accordance with a Nansen evaluation ready for Reuters. When it was launched, patrons gathered and held the token, serving to gasoline a sustained rally, Nansen stated. “The 2026 contest generated a second of exercise, however not the identical conviction we noticed in 2025. Demand simply is not sticking.”
Meme cash — a sort of crypto with no utility or intrinsic worth — are based mostly on on-line traits and viral cultural phenomena. Most of them exhibit parabolic worth curves, with an early rise usually adopted by a plunge in worth.
Among the many prime $TRUMP wallets, in accordance with blockchain information, is one linked to crypto billionaire Justin Solar, who completed first within the contest for the second consecutive yr.
Solar, one of many largest publicly identified buyers in World Liberty, sued the corporate on Tuesday, alleging that it froze his holdings. Traders have grown annoyed with the enterprise, saying it’s opaque, tightly managed and unresponsive to complaints.
In a social media put up, World Liberty co-founder and CEO Zach Witkoff, the son of Trump administration particular envoy Steve Witkoff, referred to as the lawsuit “meritless,” and accused Solar of “misconduct that required World Liberty to take motion to guard itself and its customers.”
Solar didn’t reply to a request for remark.
