Trump whales load up as Mar-a-Lago luncheon approaches

Crypto whales loaded up more of the TRUMP memecoin ahead of the luncheon at US President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida this month, which offers entry to the largest holders.

One whale withdrew about 105,754 OFFICIAL TRUMP (TRUMP) from Binance on Saturday to add to its stash of 1.13 million TRUMP, worth about $3.2 million, according to an X post from blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain on Sunday.

Two days earlier, another whale withdrew 850,488 TRUMP from the crypto exchange Bybit.

On Monday, another holder increased their TRUMP stash to more than 368,000 tokens after withdrawing from BitMart, and a fourth whale boosted their stash to over one million tokens after withdrawing from Bybit, according to blockchain explorer Solscan.

Critics have accused Trump of using his position as US president for personal financial gain through the scheme. Democratic lawmakers have also introduced bills to limit political influence and profits from memecoins.

The top 297 token holders are invited to a luncheon on April 25 at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence. The event has billed the president as the keynote speaker and offered a private reception for the top 29 holders, despite the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington, DC, being the same day.

Trump drops 33% since March announcement

Trump’s announcement of the luncheon in March saw TRUMP spike to $4.35. However, the memecoin has since dropped by over 33% to trade at $2.80 as of Monday, according to CoinGecko.

Dominick John, an analyst at Zeus Research, told Cointelegraph the price is likely being pushed lower as retail-driven market selling overwhelms already thin liquidity, forcing continuous repricing.

“At the same time, insider supply overhang means even small distributions from concentrated wallets can absorb whale bids, limiting any meaningful upside follow-through,” he added.

Crypto data analytics platform CoinCarp lists 642,882 TRUMP holders, with over 91% of the supply concentrated among the top 10 wallets and over 97% among the top 100 wallets.

Token spiked after the crypto gala announcement last year

Trump held his first “crypto gala” dinner in May 2025, a few months after his Jan. 20 inauguration as US president, which also drew concern from critics who accused him of using his position for personal financial gain.

The token peaked at $15.59 about a month before the event, but fell as the event drew closer, and fell to around $8.90 a month after the event.

John said this time around, the token could stage a recovery, with the 2026 midterms acting as a potential sentiment multiplier and other positive announcements. Catalysts and early signs of institutional accumulation could help establish a floor and trigger reflexive upside, he said.

“One catalyst to watch is the potential for event-driven launches like the Trump Billionaire Game, which could generate the social buzz needed to drive short-term upside momentum,” John added.