Trump to host gala for top $TRUMP meme coin investors -- again
Mike Tyson, Tony Robbins, and President Donald Trump walk into Mar-a-Lago.
It's not the setup to a joke -- it's a pitch to investors.
On Saturday, all three men and 297 of the top holders of Trump's meme coin, called $TRUMP, are expected to convene for what organizers call "the most exclusive crypto & business conference in the world" at Trump's Florida estate -- the second such bid to boost interest in Trump's digital asset since his return to office.
The event website warns that "no gifts will be accepted," but some attendees, by virtue of their investment in the coin, will have already spent millions of dollars -- much of which flows directly to the Trump family -- for the privilege of potentially lunching with the president.
Critics have panned the event as a brazen pay-for-play opportunity, accusing Trump of attempting to personally profit by selling access to the presidency.
In a letter transmitted earlier this month to the event organizer, longtime Trump friend Bill Zanker, a group of Senate Democrats sought records tied to the event, stating that "it is essential that Congress fully understand the extent to which President Trump and his family are profiting off of his cryptocurrency ventures."
Zanker did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
President Trump launched his meme coin -- a type of digital currency that's often based on an internet meme -- in January 2025, just days before his inauguration. The coin's value initially soared to more than $44 before plummeting almost immediately.
Last May, in a bid to reinvigorate interest in the coin, Trump announced plans for an "intimate private dinner" at his golf club in Virginia. Hundreds of investors attended the event, where Trump spoke briefly and handed out gold watches to a subset of attendees, many of whom traveled from overseas and remained anonymous until arriving in person at the event.
The 2025 event in Virginia helped bolster the coin's value for a time, but interest in the currency again tapered off. By early March 2026, its value dipped below $3, meaning that an investor who purchased $10,000 worth of Trump coins at its peak would have been left with assets worth less than $700.
Last month, when Trump announced plans for the Mar-a-Lago gala, the coin's value climbed above $4 before settling back below $3, according to CoinGecko data.
On-chain trading activity analyzed by the cryptocurrency data firm Nansen shows that the coin generated roughly $1.35 billion in trading volume on decentralized platforms across 2.74 million transactions ahead of the gala. The Trump family earns a fee from each of those transactions, according to its website, but the structure of those transaction fees remains opaque.
Notably, the volume of tokens bought and sold ahead of the Mar-a-Lago gala remained almost entirely flat, "suggesting wallets may be flipping for leaderboard points rather than building long term positions," said Jake Kennis, an analyst at Nansen.
At the upcoming event, top investors will receive Trump-branded watches, colognes, posters and a VIP reception with the president, according to the event website. Like the event last May, the identities of these investors are hidden behind pseudonyms or a series of letters and numbers. Attendees will hear keynote addresses from Tyson, Robbins and other business executives.
Buried in the event fine print, organizers say that "President Trump may not be able to attend" -- and in fact the White House has said the president plans to attend the White House Correspondents Association Dinner in Washington later that evening.
Critics say these events are just one way in which the president has used the office of the presidency to line his own pockets. His family business has struck several real estate licensing deals around the world over the past year, most notably in the Persian Gulf region, and he has lent his name and likeness to myriad merchandise, including watches, spirits, sneakers, Bibles, guitars and fragrances.
One year into his second administration, Trump's personal wealth has ballooned to more than $6 billion, according to Forbes. Despite the fact that his meme coin has lost more than 94% of its value since its all-time high early last year, the transaction fees on trades for the currency has generated nearly $400 million for the president, Forbes reported.
Trump and the White House have repeatedly and forcefully denied that his private business interests create a conflict of interest.
"The President is working to secure GOOD deals for the American people, not for himself," a White House spokesperson said when Trump held his earlier meme coin event. "President Trump only acts in the best interests of the American public -- which is why they overwhelmingly reelected him to this office, despite years of lies and false accusations against him and his businesses from the fake news media."
