Donald Trump presents himself as a fervent advocate of cryptocurrencies. The new American president claims to be so committed to the future of the ecosystem that he launched his own cryptocurrency last January, just days before his inauguration. The digital currency, simply named $TRUMP, quickly became a hit, surpassing $70 in value. The token's price subsequently plummeted below $15. In any case, the cryptocurrency, issued on the Solana blockchain, has generated a lot of money.
Conflict of interest and threats of impeachment
A few months later, Donald Trump promoted his token again. The Republican promised to invite the 220 largest holders of the cryptocurrency to a presidential dinner at the Trump National Golf Club on May 22, 2025. The announcement boosted the token's price, which had been in decline since the inauguration, while rekindling accusations of a potential conflict of interest. The initiative has angered the president's critics, who believe that Trump is using his position as president to increase his wealth. The plan appears to violate several sections of the United States Constitution regarding presidential income. The Constitution specifies that the president cannot receive any other payments or benefits other than his salary. The Constitution thus aims to preserve the independence of the president.
Irritated by the memecoin, Jon Ossoff, the senator from Georgia, even called for Donald Trump's impeachment, reports NBC News. He believes that the dinner promised by the billionaire violates the law. When the "sitting president of the United States sells access for what are in fact payments directly to him, there is no question that this constitutes an impeachable offense," the senator explained.
Trump doesn't know what to say about $TRUMP
Faced with criticism, Donald Trump mentioned $TRUMP on an NBC News show. Questioned by journalist Kristen Welker, he initially suggested that he doesn't care about his cryptocurrency. The president insisted that he was unaware of the recent rise in the cryptocurrency's price, spurred by the news of the exclusive dinner on May 22. He added that he doesn't use his position to make money.
Pressed, Trump qualified his response by admitting that "If I own stock in something, and I do a good job, and the stock market goes up, I guess I profit." In other words, Trump doesn't actively track the price of crypto, but he does profit indirectly through his companies.
According to the Financial Times, the token has already generated $350 million for CIC Digital LLC, Trump's company that issues the cryptocurrency. In fact, two companies within the Trump empire, namely CIC Digital LLC and Fight Fight Fight LLC, hold 80% of the issued Trump tokens, or over $450 million. A portion of the supply will gradually be released into circulation until 2028, generating profits.
The NBC News reporter floated the idea of Donald Trump donating all of his crypto income to the United States government. The idea didn't really appeal to the billionaire, who claimed to have "never considered" it.
Despite the controversies surrounding his token, the president continues to advocate for cryptocurrency. He believes this is a major strategic issue in standing up to China:
In the process, Trump pointed out that if "you look at the markets when they went down, bitcoin stayed much stronger than other sectors", referring to the global financial crash caused by his own tariffs.
Source: NBC News
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