Even Republicans are Raising Eyebrows Over Trump's Exclusive Memecoin Dinner
'This is my president that we're talking about, but I am willing to say that this gives me pause,' Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis told NBC News. Lummis, a staunch ally of the president, has been pushing for greater regulation in the cryptocurrency space, describing it as 'the Wild West.'
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), a frequent dissenter in the party ranks, said the idea made her uneasy but added that she didn't have all the details.
'I don't think it would be appropriate for me to charge people to come into the Capitol and take a tour,' Murkowski told NBC News. 'He's got to remember that he's living there, but it's the people's house, right?'
Trump's memecoin, launched on Jan. 17—just three days before his inauguration—surged to a peak market value of more than $14.5 billion on Jan. 19 before dropping by 64 percent. However, following the announcement last week that holders could buy access to the exclusive event, with the top 25 investors getting an 'ultra-exclusive VIP reception with the president,' its value has surged by 50 percent.
Few Republicans have publicly questioned the ethics of the event, however Democratic Senators Adam Schiff and Elizabeth Warren have warned that the event may constitute 'pay-to-play' corruption. They have requested an investigation by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics.
The official leaderboard on the Get Trump Memes website suggests an invitation can be bought for as little as $1,700 in $TRUMP. However, data on the Solana blockchain explorer Solscan indicates that the top 220 $TRUMP coin-holders have between $460,000 and $319 million in $TRUMP. This does not include the coins held by the two Trump-owned entities, CIC Digital LLC and Fight Fight Fight LLC, which together own 80 percent of the president's cryptocurrency, currently valued at $10.3 billion.
CIC Digital receives trading revenue for transactions in the $TRUMP market and, since its inception, has earned up to $100 million in transaction fees alone, Reuters reports.
At least 50 of the largest investors in the coin have made profits in excess of $10 million each, while some 800,000 retail traders with small holdings have collectively lost more than $2 billion.
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