Donald Trump stood up before a crowd of his largest $TRUMP meme coin holders at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday and wrongfully claimed that crypto was invented in the United States, just as his meme coin was crashing some more.
“The crypto industry was created in America. We invented it, and its growth has been led by America, and its future will be made in America and other countries,” said Trump.
It is worth noting that crypto was founded by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, whom the entire world has tried and failed to uncover for well over a decade. If he were American, surely the CIA would have figured that out by now. Unless, of course, the CIA is Satoshi Nakamoto, in which case we sincerely apologize to the POTUS.
Anyway, Trump’s Saturday gathering was tied to wallet rankings, VIP access, and branded gifts, even as crypto traders kept asking the obvious question: why celebrate a coin that has wrecked late buyers this badly?
Naturally, Trump used his 45-minute keynote [slurred] speech to talk about the Iran war he started, his crypto policy record (only one crypto bill has been passed), AI, and the recent rally in Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC), the chipmaker he invested billions of US taxpayer money in, before then boosting its stock via a series of entanglements with other companies that Trump himself championed.
Trump hosts major $TRUMP holders while the token trades near $2.59
$TRUMP traded at $2.56 on Saturday afternoon, down 10.4% in 24 hours, which is far below its record above $70, which came during the post-inauguration buying rush in January 2025, based on CoinGecko data.
The meme coin crashed to $15 by May 2025, which was the time Trump held a similar gathering for top meme coin holders.
Back to the event, people in the room said supporters rushed toward the front to hear Trump speak. Secret Service agents kept telling people to stay seated, but some did not listen. The event was not just a speech.
The 29 largest $TRUMP holders were invited to a VIP reception with the president, and then apparently received Trump fragrances, posters, trading cards, and watches. The official site for the coin and the event said there would be no private meetings with Trump and that no gifts would be accepted. As of the time this article was written, Trump was already back in Washington.
The guest list included Cathie Wood, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, Tony Robbins, and Mike Tyson. During the eligibility period for the Mar-a-Lago gathering, $TRUMP produced $1.35 billion in trading volume, based on data from Nansen.
Justin Sun stands on business in fight with Trump family as degens back him online
The event also came during a public legal fight involving Justin Sun, the biggest known public investor in $TRUMP, and World Liberty Financial.
Cryptopolitan previously reported that Justin sued the Trump family’s main crypto project earlier this week and accused it of “criminal extortion” after his $WLFI tokens were frozen. He said the freeze came because he refused to invest more money into the company.
$WLFI has traded near its all-time low. Justin was not seen at Saturday’s event. He also sold his full 3% stake in $TRUMP in one sale.
Justin said in his lawsuit statement: “I have always been and remain an ardent supporter of President Trump and his Administration’s efforts to make America crypto friendly.” He added that the lawsuit did not change how he felt about Trump or the administration.
Justin blamed people on the World Liberty team, saying they acted against Trump’s values. He said they froze all his tokens, took away his right to vote on governance proposals, and threatened to burn the tokens for good. He said he tried to settle the fight without court action, but the team refused to restore his tokens and rights.
Justin also said: “All I want is to be treated the same as every other early investor who received tokens, no better, no worse.”
The crypto community has mostly sided with Justin. The so-called self-proclaimed degens have been especially loud, and the fight has spilled onto X, where Justin and Eric Trump have traded public shots. Justin was not at Trump’s event.