Author: Weilin, PANews
The meme coin king Trump seems to understand the marketing "tricks" of the crypto industry. On April 23, the official $TRUMP meme coin project announced an "exclusive benefit": hosting a "dinner with Trump" for the first 220 token holders. According to the official website, this grand gathering is planned for May 22 at Trump's golf club in Washington, with a compelling slogan calling it the "most exclusive invitation in the world".
As the news was released, the TRUMP token's price quickly rose in the short term. However, behind this surge, $TRUMP has just experienced an unlock, revealing a recently familiar "script" - unlock, pump, dump, supplemented by a "Presidential Dinner" narrative. Is this dinner a sincere payback to crypto token holders or a marketing strategy for price manipulation?
$TRUMP's recent unlock brings selling pressure, is Trump's team using crypto tactics to "pump and dump"?
Whether it's the previously launched "Trump Portrait" Non-Fungible Token series, Bitcoin-themed custom sneakers, or the crypto project WLFI involving family members, the Trump team seems familiar with crypto users' psychology. The $TRUMP meme coin continues this approach, throwing out a "dinner invitation" at a critical moment.
The promotional page for this Trump dinner reads: It is the "most exclusive invitation in the world. Limited to the first 220 $TRUMP Meme coin holders. Donald J. Trump, president dubbed the 'Crypto President'! In this private dinner, you'll have the opportunity to personally hear President Trump's views on the future of cryptocurrency." What further sparked market enthusiasm was the additional benefit for the top 25 holders: an exclusive reception and VIP itinerary.
To qualify, users need to register and accept the Leaderboard ranking based on "time-weighted holdings".
The dinner rumor first appeared on April 20, coinciding with a 4% unlock of TRUMP tokens, which had previously raised concerns about increased selling pressure. However, with the news, market sentiment quickly reversed, and the token stopped falling and rebounded.
On April 23, after the dinner news was officially announced, the TRUMP token price rose significantly, climbing from $9.35 to $16.7 by noon on April 24. By noon on April 25, its price had fallen to around $12.06, with a 7-day increase of 60.46%.
Previously, the first TRUMP token unlock took effect on April 18, releasing 40 million tokens worth approximately $309 million, a 90% drop from its peak.
The operation of "good news accompanying the unlock period" is common in crypto. PANews recently reviewed on-chain data and found that TRUMP's large holders have been frequently trading in the past three months. Comparing data from January 20, 86.9% of the top 1,000 holders chose to clear their tokens, totaling 48 million tokens cleared, accounting for 24% of the total circulating supply. On April 18, TRUMP tokens experienced a 4% unlock. But on April 20, rumors spread that Trump planned to host a dinner for TRUMP token holders. Subsequently, TRUMP stopped falling and began to rebound. The dinner event became a "new story".
Following this were more frequent on-chain activities, showing FOMO sentiment among token holders. On April 24, according to Lookonchain, a long-term $TRUMP liquidity provider withdrew liquidity from two wallets about two hours earlier, retrieving 211,977 $TRUMP and 18,376 $SOL, totaling around $2.76 million. At the time, both wallets were among the top 220 $TRUMP holdings, potentially qualifying for the Trump dinner invitation. The address initially purchased 332,000 $TRUMP at $2.41 on the first day of listing, once reaching a market value of over $24 million.
On the same day, according to Arkham, an HTX cold wallet had registered for the Trump dinner event. This wallet holds $14.6 million worth of TRUMP tokens, making it the wallet with the most TRUMP tokens registered for this dinner. It's worth noting that Justin Sun, a global advisory committee member of HTX, is an advisor to the Trump family project WLFI.
On April 25, the official team clarified that the participation threshold had caused misunderstandings. The official TrumpMeme X account stated that no $TRUMP token holdings over $300,000 are required to participate. Qualification is based on registration and time-weighted holdings on the Leaderboard, not block explorer rankings. Initial and daily unlocked tokens will still be additionally locked for 90 days to ensure competition fairness.
Dinner details suggest Trump may not attend, previous dinner plans were repeatedly "stood up"
Notably, the official terms and conditions for this $TRUMP dinner show that the organizers reserve the right to change the time and location. President Trump may be absent, and if the dinner is canceled or he fails to attend, qualifying $TRUMP holders will receive a limited edition Non-Fungible Token as compensation. All attendees must be 18 or older and pass security and background checks, with travel and accommodation costs to be borne by themselves.
An X platform post from 2019 has also resurfaced with this news, showing that dinners are a common Trump strategy, but he has failed to attend at least 15 similar promises.
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Despite this, Trump has kept his promise, but only before taking office as the US President. As early as before taking office in January 2025, on the evening of May 8, 2024 local time, Trump held an Non-Fungible Token dinner at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. Buyers who purchased at least 47 Trump "MugShot Edition" Non-Fungible Tokens were invited to attend. At the time, Hong Kong actor Stephen Fung, who was enthusiastic about Non-Fungible Tokens, was also present at the scene.
Trump's MEME dinner also became a target for Democratic attacks. On April 24, regarding "Trump will have dinner with the first 220 TRUMP token holders", Democratic Senator Chris Murphy from Connecticut stated: "This not only reflects Trump's nature, but the TRUMP token scam might be the most blatantly corrupt presidential behavior in history." Clearly, his political opponents are not optimistic about this promotion and event.
It can be seen that the "Trump dinner" successfully attracted the attention of the crypto market with its high-profile celebrity effect, and also allowed the TRUMP token to achieve a short-term price rebound during the unlocking period. However, whether the dinner will be fulfilled, whether the president will attend, and whether participants will truly benefit are still unknown. Looking back at the past record of canceling "shared meals" and the adjustments to the dinner rules, investors and users may need to more soberly identify the risks involved.
How long the narrative of the "crypto president" can be sustained remains to be tested.
