President Donald Trump is set to host another dinner for top holders of his meme coin, Official Trump ($TRUMP), following last year’s event.
This year’s gathering will feature 18 additional speakers alongside Trump. Given the expanded scale, concerns about potential conflicts of interest and the former president’s pursuit of personal gain are likely to persist.
The Official Trump team announced that on April 25, a dinner and conference for the top 297 meme coin holders will be held at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. A separate VIP program is also planned for the top 29 holders.
The shift from a simple dinner to a conference format marks a significant change from last year’s event. As a result, the lineup now includes additional speakers alongside the keynote speaker, Trump.
The event’s promotional page states that 18 global speakers will participate, with organizers revealing one speaker per day.
Among the notable speakers is Song Chi Hyung, the Korean founder of Dunamu, which operates Upbit. On Tuesday, the Official Trump team introduced Song as one of the 18 superstars, describing him as the billionaire founder of South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
The speaker lineup also includes Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, Ark Invest founder Cathie Wood, boxing legend Mike Tyson, renowned venture capitalist Tim Draper, and bestselling author Tony Robbins, among others.
Last year, Trump invited 220 top holders of the Official Trump meme coin to a dinner. Oh Sang-rok, CEO of the Korean virtual asset financial service company Hyperlism, garnered attention as a Korean attendee.
Justin Sun, founder of Tron, was last year’s top holder. Currently, the top-ranked holder is believed to be Sun, using the nickname “SUN” – the same moniker he used last year.
SUN holds approximately 1.8 billion Trump meme coins. At the current price of $2.98, this amounts to about $5.36 billion.
As individuals spend vast sums to attend the dinner, criticism mounts in the U.S. Critics argue that the former president is leveraging his political influence to inflate coin prices. Moreover, hosting an event focused on personal gain during times of global crisis is likely to face backlash.
During last year’s dinner, Senator Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, criticized the event, saying it raises concerns about wealthy foreign individuals gaining direct access to the former president. He also warned that such events could create opportunities for influence. A bill was introduced to prohibit public officials from issuing meme coins.
Civic organizations also staged protests. The progressive group Public Citizen held a demonstration at the Potomac Falls Golf Course in Virginia on the day of last year’s dinner. The group called for the event to be canceled or for the attendee list to be disclosed to show who had access to the former president.
