TRUMP Memecoin Drops 8% After Trump Gala as Top Holders Exit

On May 22, former US President Donald Trump hosted an exclusive gala dinner for the top 220 holders of the TRUMP memecoin. The event, first announced in April, was a highly publicized affair that attracted a mix of crypto elites and public figures from around the world. The 25 largest holders received VIP access, including a private reception with Trump before the dinner.

The attendees collectively held around $394 million worth of the TRUMP token before the event. Notably, 72% of the guests came from outside the US, highlighting the memecoin’s global appeal. TRON founder Justin Sun topped the list of attendees with a $19 million stake in the TRUMP token, while the average guest held approximately $1.79 million in TRUMP. The median investment in the digital asset was about $348,000.

While the dinner was intended to celebrate the eponymous token’s success, market sentiment quickly soured. Shortly after the event, the price of TRUMP dropped over 8% to $13.70. Blockchain sleuths revealed that nearly half the gala attendees no longer held TRUMP tokens in their wallets. In fact, 92 of the 220 eligible wallets had fully exited their positions before the event. Additionally, the token balances among top holders declined from 11.3 million to 7 million post-dinner.

The glitz of the event also attracted criticism from demonstrators and US lawmakers alike, who criticized the event as a pay-to-play scheme. Senator Chris Murphy called the gala “corrupt” and demanded that Trump release the official guest list if the dinner was legitimate. He stated, “Trump’s meme coin is designed to facilitate corruption. You can pay Trump secretly, which gets you secret special access to the President. If Trump’s dinner with the top coin buyers was legit, he would release the list of attendees. But it’s corrupt. So the list stays hidden.”

Despite the criticism, the event was described as a rare convergence of global crypto players, many of whom flew in from Asia and Europe. Vincent Liu of Kronos Research said, “Hearing President Trump affirm his support for crypto in person is both inspiring and deeply motivating.” The guests enjoyed a luxury dinner featuring halibut, filet mignon, and a signature organic salad named after Trump. Notably, Sun said he received a Trump Tourbillon Watch at the dinner.