As Bitcoin soars and pro-crypto legislation gains traction in Congress, former President Donald Trump’s deepening entanglement with the cryptocurrency industry is drawing scrutiny — not only from his political opponents, but from inside the industry itself.
On Thursday evening, Trump hosted a private dinner at his luxury golf club in Northern Virginia for 220 top investors in the $TRUMP meme coin, a cryptocurrency he launched earlier this year. The exclusive event, which included promises of further access and Trump-branded luxury gifts, has raised fresh ethical concerns over whether the former president is leveraging his political influence for personal financial gain.
While Democrats accuse Trump of enriching his family’s business empire under the guise of policy advocacy, even some of his most ardent supporters in the crypto world are sounding the alarm.
“It’s distasteful and an unnecessary distraction,” said Nic Carter, a Trump supporter and partner at Castle Island Ventures. “We would much rather that he passes common-sense legislation and leave it at that.” Carter added that the president is “hugging us to death” through private business ventures that blur the lines between politics and profit.
The dinner came just days after the Senate made strides on new pro-crypto legislation — a milestone that the industry had long awaited. Still, the timing of Trump’s invitation-only event has sparked fears that anonymous investors may be using crypto’s lack of transparency to purchase access to a former president with active political influence.
Back in January, at a flashy Crypto Ball near the White House just before his second inauguration, Trump introduced $TRUMP as a way for supporters to “have fun.” But what started as a meme coin — a type of cryptocurrency often dismissed as unserious and speculative — has taken on outsized significance. The top 25 holders of $TRUMP now enjoy exclusive access to Trump himself, while the top four are being awarded $100,000 Trump-branded crypto watches.
Although the coin saw an initial surge in value, it has since experienced a dramatic decline, underscoring concerns about the volatility and insider-driven nature of meme coins.
Meanwhile, Trump’s entire family appears to be all-in on crypto. First Lady Melania Trump has launched her own meme coin, and sons Eric and Don Jr., who manage the Trump Organization during their father’s presidency, have announced plans to co-found a crypto mining company.
More controversially, the family holds a 60% stake in World Liberty Financial, which recently launched a stablecoin, USD1. The venture drew global attention after a $2 billion deal was announced with an investment fund from the United Arab Emirates to buy a stake in Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, using USD1.
Unlike meme coins, stablecoins are pegged to assets like the U.S. dollar and typically generate revenue from the interest earned on backing instruments like Treasury bonds.
The rapid expansion of Trump-affiliated crypto ventures has made digital currency a central pillar of the Trump family’s financial portfolio — a transformation that some warn opens dangerous doors.
“He’s becoming a salesman-in-chief,” said James Thurber, professor emeritus at American University. “It allows for foreign influence easily. It allows for crypto lobbying going on at this dinner, and other ways. It allows for huge conflicts of interest.”
As the lines blur between presidential power and private profit, even staunch allies of the crypto movement are left wondering whether Trump’s embrace of digital currency is about policy — or simply another deal.
