Alan Sudderman
In the crypto world, meme coins are mostly jokes with no intrinsic value. But the Trump family has imposed presidential meme coins on two valuable commodities: serious cash and access to the president.
Chain Analysis, a blockchain analytics company, has generated more than $320 million in fees for creators since the coin was launched earlier this year. And on Monday, Trump promoted a dinner that he was scheduled to attend on May 22nd.
According to contest rules, the top 220 owners of Memecoin can go to dinner at Trump’s Washington Area Golf Club. Also, top 25 owners can take part in a reception where you can play cards and rub shoulders in advance.
“Please let the president know how many card coins you own!” Meme Coin said he is promoting dinner on his website.
After dinner was first announced and prices also rose, memecoin trading activity jumped. But Trump doesn’t have to sell coins to make money.
How Trump Makes Money from Meme Coins
Decentralization is the foundation of cryptocurrency. Bitcoin, the world’s most popular crypto, was born in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis as a digital currency aimed at being controlled by banks and governments.
Card meme coins can be traded in decentralized exchanges. This is basically a place where traders can exchange goods without an intermediary.
Instead of matching buyers and sellers one by one, decentralized exchanges use what is called liquidity pools to make trading easier and instantaneous. Liquidity pools are essentially pots of automated funds that combine meme coins like $Trump and more common types of crypto that can be easily traded.
When Trump Meme Coin was first released, its creators released 20% of the first planned billion coins. Half of that 20% were listed on public sales, while the other half was placed in liquidity pools. CIC Digital, an affiliate of the Trump organization, receives “trading revenues from trading activities” from Trump Memecoin, according to its website.
Through liquidity pools, the creators of Trump meme coins make money by charging small fees for each trade.
“You really don’t care what happens to prices. Just worry about the continuous amount,” said Nikolai Sondergaard, research analyst at Nansen, a blockchain analytics firm. “The more volume it means more transactions and more fees for you.”
Cryptocurrency blockchains are publicly available, so you can track how much you have been paid for your transaction fee. Chain Olisis said Trump Meme coin creators earned more than $1.3 million in trading fees the week after dinner was first announced. The value of the meme coin jumped from about $9 to around $14 shortly after its announcement. It was trading for around $11 on a Monday afternoon.
Trump is underestimating profits
The Trump meme coin, launched just before he took office, has become one of the most notable ways in which a standard-destructive president mixes politics with his personal finances.
The remaining 80% of Trump meme coins that are still locked up are allocated to CIC Digital and another company. The ethics agreement prohibits “day-to-day” decisions in Trump organizations when he is president, and limits financial information about businesses he can share with him.
In an interview with NBC’s conference The Press over the weekend, Trump said he would not follow the price fluctuations in his memecoin and dismissed the idea that he was profiting from the presidency. He also rejected the proposal to withhold the benefits gained from the crypto effort.
“I do a good job as president, so should I contribute to all the properties I’ve owned for years? I don’t think so,” Trump said.
Heavy promotion
The team behind Trump’s memecoin is actively trying to promote opportunities to eat with the president.
“Good news! President Trump is allowing another person to dinner with Trump,” X’s official Meme Coin account encouraged people to reply last week with a meme featuring Trump. “Our favorite $Trump meme is shown to President Trump and we’ll pick one person who will come for dinner on May 22nd!”
The creators also tried to raise the ante by offering the top four owners of Trump meme coins a $100,000 Trump themed watch.
Unknown Guest
On Monday night, Trump was at a golf club in the suburbs of Washington. It hosts “Crypto & AI Innovators Dinner” sponsored by Super PAC. An invitation to an event circulating online instructs people invited to pay $1.5 million per person to attend. Super PACs must list donors in regular public disclosures.
However, it is unclear whether the public knows who bought their own way for a meme coin dinner with the president. Unlike political donations that must be reported publicly, memecoin buyers do not have disclosure requirements. The White House did not immediately answer questions about whether to share details about dinner participants.
Critics of Trump’s foray into Memecoin, including several Democrats, say it gives actors with poorly pseudonymous cryptocurrency opportunities to try to over-inspire the president by purchasing digital assets.
The Trump Memecoin website ensures that those who register for the contest will “not be publicly presented” with their full legal name and contact information.
Instead, subscribers select the username that appears on the website’s leaderboard. Rankings depend not only on how many card meme coins someone has, but also on how long.
After No. 220, the board is encouraging people just below the cut to buy more meme coins.
“You’re so close. A fight for your $Trump dinner.”
Associated Press reporter Will Weissert contributed.
Original issue: May 5, 2025, 4:49pm EDT
