Crypto memecoin $TRUMP dinner blurs lines between profit and politics
More than two hundred guests on Thursday will make their way to a ritzy country club just up the Potomac River from Washington, ready for a sumptuous dinner hosted by the president of the United States.The lucky few are not top officials or visiting heads of state but the 220 biggest buyers of $TRUMP, a crypto memecoin launched by the US president in January.The top 25 investors will enjoy even more special access: a private session with Trump before dinner -- which is set at the Trump National Golf Club in Potomac Falls, Virginia -- and a White House tour."The most EXCLUSIVE INVITATION in the World," a website dedicated to the event said. "The question is...ARE YOU IN?"This dinner represents perhaps the boldest commercial venture of Trump's presidency, further blurring already hazy boundaries between politics and profit.Launched hours before his January inauguration, the $TRUMP memecoin is only one example of the Trump family's ever-expanding moves into cryptocurrency Much of the crypto industry frowns upon these coins or tokens, fearing they tarnish the sector's credibility, amid reports of quick pump-and-dump schemes that leave unwitting buyers paying for assets that end up worthless.$TRUMP saw a spike in value when it announced the dinner, but reports said that many of the winners of the offer, which closed on May 12, are now selling their memecoins.Critics, including the typically Trump-friendly Wall Street Journal editorial board, point out that Trump and his allies, as the creators of the memecoin, have made $320 million in trading fees, citing Chainalysis, a data analytic firm.They also point out that the dinner allows foreign actors who otherwise can't influence the White House to try to use the memecoin to buy favor with the government.The crypto industry, which massively contributed to his campaign, has welcomed Trump's return to the White House, praising his promise for a clear departure from the skepticism of the previous Democratic administration toward digital currencies.Those years were marked by major scandal, including the collapse of FTX, the crypto giant founded by CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who is now serving a 25-year sentence for committing massive fraud.But the controversy surrounding the dinner is complicating efforts to pass crucial legislation that would provide clearer legal framework in stablecoins, digital assets that are considered safer and more established than more speculative corners of the sector."The American people deserve the unwavering assurance that access to the presidency is not being offered for sale to the highest bidder in exchange for the President's own financial gain," US Senators Adam Schiff and Elizabeth Warren wrote in a letter to the Office of Government Ethics.Trump, despite previous hostility toward cryptocurrency, has already taken significant steps to reduce regulatory barriers, including an executive order establishing a "Strategic Bitcoin Reserve" that would maintain government holdings of the world's leading digital currency.However, key Democrats in Congress are blocking other legislative advancements, frustrated by the dinner and other Trump family ventures into cryptocurrency.- Win the 'race' -These expanding connections include investment in Binance, whose founder is seeking a presidential pardon to re-enter the US market.The investment is being made through World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency venture backed by the Trumps that launched in September and has made major deals in the Middle East.The company founders feature Trump's sons Donald Jr. and Eric alongside Zach Witkoff, son of Trump's diplomatic adviser Steve Witkoff.At an April crypto conference in Dubai, Eric Trump and Zach Witkoff announced that the state-backed Emirati fund MGX would use USD1, their firm's cryptocurrency, to invest $2 billion in Binance.Additionally, American Bitcoin, another venture backed by Trump's eldest sons, recently announced plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange.That company will ride lower energy costs and environmental norms to lower the cost of bitcoin mining in the United States."The US won the space race. We better win the crypto race," Eric Trump recently told CNBC.arp/bfm
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
27 minutes ago
- Mint
Iran Meets UK, France and Germany for Nuclear Talks
(Bloomberg) -- Iranian and European officials held nuclear talks in Istanbul on Friday as tensions simmer over Tehran's nuclear program after it was targeted by a US military strike last month. Diplomats from the Islamic Republic met with counterparts from the UK, France and Germany — the so-called E3 bloc of top European economies — at around 10:30 a.m. local time to try and ease a standoff over Iran's atomic activities. The talks come about a month after the US bombed three key nuclear sites in Iran, triggering a break in international inspections of its atomic activities and raising questions over the whereabouts of its stockpile of enriched uranium. The strike also derailed separate nuclear negotiations between the Islamic Republic and the Trump administration. The E3 helped broker a 2015 nuclear deal — known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action — with Iran that imposed strict limits on Tehran's atomic work in exchange for sanctions relief. Friday's talks are important because they could delay any effort by the Europeans to 'snap back' broad United Nations sanctions that were lifted as part of that accord. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot last week announced the possibility of reimposing the sanctions by the end of August if Iran fails to reach a deal limiting its nuclear program. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said that the E3 has lost any right to invoke the JCPOA's snapback mechanism, which expires in October, because it failed to meet its own obligations under the agreement after US President Donald Trump withdrew from it seven years ago. On Wednesday, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister said Tehran has 'not ruled out' withdrawing from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons if the UN were to reimpose sanctions. 'That's still on the table,' Kazem Gharibabadi, who's attending the Istanbul talks, told reporters. 'I'm quite confident that if the snapback is triggered, Iran will not show more restraint in this regard,' he said. --With assistance from Patrick Sykes. (Updates lead to reflect talks have started.) More stories like this are available on
NDTV
42 minutes ago
- NDTV
Trump Admin Asks US Supreme Court to Reinstate $783 Million In Research Funding Cuts
Washington: The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to allow it to cut hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of research funding in its push to roll back federal diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. The Justice Department argued a federal judge in Massachusetts was wrong to block the National Institutes of Health from making $783 million worth of cuts to align with President Donald Trump's priorities. US District Judge William Young found that the abrupt cancellations ignored long-held government rules and standards. Young, an appointee of Republican President Ronald Reagan, also said the cuts amounted to "racial discrimination and discrimination against America's LGBTQ community." "I've never seen government racial discrimination like this," Young said at a hearing last month. An appeals court left the ruling in place. The ruling came in lawsuits filed by 16 attorneys general, public-health advocacy groups and some affected scientists. His decision addressed only a fraction of the hundreds of NIH research projects that have been cut. The Trump administration's appeal also takes aim at nearly two dozen cases over funding. Solicitor General D. John Sauer pointed to a 5-4 decision on the Supreme Court's emergency docket from April that allowed cuts to teacher training programs to go forward. The order shows that district judges shouldn't be hearing those cases at all, but rather sending them to federal claims court, he argued. "Those decisions reflect quintessential policy judgments on hotly contested issues that should not be subject to judicial second-guessing. It is hardly irrational for agencies to recognize-as members of this Court have done-that paeans to 'diversity' often conceal invidious racial discrimination," he wrote.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
an hour ago
- Business Standard
EPL club Crystal Palace lands new backer as Woody Johnson joins Investors
Crystal Palace confirmed that New York Jets owner Woody Johnson's purchase of Eagle Football's shareholding in the Premier League club has been completed. I am honoured and privileged to be joining the ownership group of Crystal Palace Football Club, Johnson told the club website Thursday. Palace announced last month that Johnson had signed a legally binding contract to buy the shares of fellow American John Textor, who had a 43% stake in the London club, with reports at the time placing the price between $220 million and $260 million. The latest club statement gave no financial details. Johnson joins chairman Steve Parish, Josh Harris and David Blitzer as a partner and director of the club, and has also signed the Premier League's Owners' Charter. It is an organization with a proud history, tradition, and deep roots in English football in South London, which I came to admire during my time as US Ambassador to the United Kingdom," Johnson said. Palace finished 12th last season in the 20-team Premier League. Competition dispute Johnson's arrival at Palace comes with the club in dispute with UEFA over which European competition it will play in next season after winning the FA Cup in May its first major trophy in 120 years of existence. Palace was demoted from the Europa League to the Conference League after falling foul of UEFA's rules governing multi-club ownership, but has submitted an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. UEFA determined that as of March 1, Textor had control or influence in Palace and French club Lyon. Textor said he had agreed to sell his stake in Palace to Johnson, but the move came too late to satisfy UEFA.
