- Trump hosts crypto dinner, reinforcing U.S. leadership in Bitcoin and digital assets.
- Maxine Waters proposes a bill banning crypto activities for top U.S. officials amid controversy.
Donald Trump’s much-talked-about crypto dinner has finally taken place, drawing hundreds of high-profile guests from both political and financial circles.
Held in Loudoun County, Virginia, 220 influential investors attended the gala.
Trump’s crypto claims — Fake or real?
Ahead of the event, Trump took to Truth Social to reaffirm his pro-crypto stance, declaring that the United States is leading in Bitcoin [BTC] and digital assets, and that under his watch, it would stay that way.
He said,
“Heading to the Crypto Dinner in Loudon County, Virginia, in a little while. The U.S.A. is DOMINATING in Crypto, Bitcoin, etc., and we are going to keep it that way!”
Backing Trump’s assertive stance on American crypto dominance, recent data from Bitcoin Treasuries reveals that the United States holds the largest national stash of Bitcoin, approximately 198,012 BTC, surpassing China’s 190,000 BTC.
These assets were primarily obtained through government seizures, but Trump aims to shift their strategic value.
He has proposed establishing a U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, a move that would halt future government sales of seized BTC, contrasting sharply with the liquidation approach taken by previous administrations.
Maxine Waters takes aim at Trump’s crypto ventures
However, as Trump’s crypto dinner captured headlines, it also triggered a wave of political backlash.
Just hours before the event, U.S. Representative Maxine Waters introduced the “Stop Trading, Retention, and Unfair Market Payoffs in Crypto Act of 2025”, aka “Stop TRUMP in Crypto Act.”
The proposed law seeks to prohibit senior U.S. officials, such as the president, vice president, Congress members, and their families, from creating, holding, or promoting cryptocurrencies during their tenure.
Waters emphasized that the bill is intended to curb the misuse of political power for personal crypto gains, banning any financial involvement in mining, trading, or marketing of digital assets by public officials.
The bill noted,
“An issuer required to file reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission under section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 may not issue or sell, or otherwise transact with respect to, a digital asset on behalf of a covered individual.”
Further, directing this to Trump’s crypto ventures, Waters noted,
“Trump’s crypto con is not just a scam to target investors. It’s also a dangerous backdoor for selling influence over American policies to the highest foreign bidder.”
However, not everyone was on the same page, as reported by Reuters.
A White House spokeswoman, Karoline Leavitt, stood up for Trump and said,
“All of the president’s assets are in a blind trust, which is managed by his children. And I would argue, one of the many reasons that the American people re-elected this president back to this office is because he was a very successful businessman before giving it up to publicly serve our country.”
Impact on TRUMP memecoin
This coincided with the Official Trump [TRUMP] memecoin experiencing a roller coaster ride.
Initially surging to $15.12 on the 21st of May, just ahead of the event, the token saw a dip during early trading hours on the 22nd of May before briefly recovering to $15.80 by evening.
However, momentum quickly faded after the dinner concluded, dragging the token down to around $13.76, a 4.95% drop in 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap.
In contrast, Bitcoin maintained strong upward momentum, trading at $110,796.74 after gaining 6.45% over the past week, signaling diverging market sentiment.
Source: https://ambcrypto.com/trumps-crypto-con-under-fire-with-new-bill-hours-before-gala-dinner/