Trump hosts crypto contest winners at Mar-a-Lago as his coin languishes

U.S. President Donald Trump boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Friday, April 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

NEW YORK -- U.S. President Donald Trump is set to host winners of his second annual meme coin contest at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, on Saturday, offering top buyers of his $TRUMP cryptocurrency an audience with him even as the token’s value has plunged 96 per cent from its peak last year.

The gala will take place as scrutiny of the Trump family’s broader crypto ventures has intensified, with Democratic leaders calling for investigations.

The 297 largest $TRUMP token holders who registered for the contest will attend a gathering that Trump has billed the “most exclusive” crypto and business conference in the world, where he will give the keynote address. The top 29 also will attend a “special VIP reception and champagne toast” with the president.

The day-long event is the latest example of Trump blending presidential stature with his family’s growing portfolio of speculative crypto ventures - a convergence government ethics experts say has little modern precedent, particularly since Trump’s personal crypto wealth has ballooned as he reshapes U.S. crypto policy.

While many retail buyers who piled into the token around its launch have seen most of their paper gains disappear, the Trump family and affiliated entities have continued to profit from the broader crypto ecosystem.

A Reuters examination found that the family has taken in more than US$1 billion from crypto asset sales, including at least $336 million tied to meme-coin sales in the first half of 2025 alone, with potentially billions more in unrealized gains.

“President Trump’s assets are in a trust managed by his children,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told Reuters, adding that the president only acts in the best interests of the American public. “There are no conflicts of interest.”

Last year’s meme coin contest, at his golf club near Washington, D.C., raised similar concerns for ethics experts, as did a February conference at Mar-a-Lago hosted by the president’s sons, Eric and Don Jr., for World Liberty Financial, the Trump family’s most lucrative crypto venture, which drew top figures from Washington, D.C. and Wall Street.

Contest rankings were based not only on holdings of $TRUMP but also on purchases of Trump-branded merchandise - including sneakers, watches and fragrances - between March 12 and April 14. Winners are set to receive Trump-branded items including a commemorative poster, two trading cards, a “Fight Fight Fight Red Beauty” watch and a fragrance.

$TRUMP token near lows

The $TRUMP token is hovering near its all-time lows. When the contest closed earlier this month, $TRUMP closed at $2.81, down steeply from the $75 all-time high shortly after it was introduced in January 2025.

The 297 qualifying winners hold roughly $29 million worth of $TRUMP, according to crypto analytics firm Nansen, far below the $148 million Reuters reported they held for the inaugural May 2025 contest.

“The contrast with last year’s launch is stark,” according to a Nansen analysis prepared for Reuters. When it was launched, buyers accumulated and held the token, helping fuel a sustained rally, Nansen said. “The 2026 contest generated a moment of activity, but not the same conviction we saw in 2025. Demand just isn’t sticking.”

Meme coins - a type of crypto with no utility or intrinsic value - are based on online trends and viral cultural phenomena. Most of them exhibit parabolic price curves, with a rise in the early stage often followed by a plunge in value.

Among the top $TRUMP wallets, according to blockchain data, is one linked to crypto billionaire Justin Sun, who finished first in the contest for the second consecutive year.

Sun, one of the largest publicly known investors in World Liberty, sued the company on Tuesday, alleging that it froze his holdings. Investors have grown frustrated with the venture, saying it is opaque, tightly controlled and unresponsive to complaints.

In a social media post, World Liberty co-founder and CEO Zach Witkoff, the son of Trump administration special envoy Steve Witkoff, called the lawsuit “meritless,” and accused Sun of “misconduct that required World Liberty to take action to protect itself and its users.”

Sun did not respond to a request for comment.

Michelle Conlin; Editing by Sergio Non and David Gaffen, Reuters