TRUMP meme coin sees rejection at $16, legislators target President Trump's crypto ties ahead of gala with holders

• Legislators released a bill on Thursday named the Stop TRUMP in Crypto Act, designed to prohibit President Trump from further crypto involvement.

• CFTC Commissioner Mersinger called criticisms of the President's crypto involvements a "distraction" from more pressing issues.

• TRUMP saw a rejection at the $16 resistance, tapering gains from Thursday after rallying more than 11%.

Official Trump (TRUMP) meme coin saw a rejection at $16 on Thursday ahead of a crypto dinner between token holders and President Trump. The dinner comes amid backlash from lawmakers who introduced the Stop TRUMP in Crypto Act to halt the President's involvement in digital assets.

TRUMP declines following bill from lawmakers against President Trump's crypto ties

Lawmakers introduced a bill on Thursday that would ban President Donald Trump from launching or profiting from any cryptocurrency while in office, aiming to halt his growing involvement in the crypto industry.

The new legislation, named the Stop Trading, Retention and Unfair Market Payoffs in Crypto Act — or the Stop TRUMP in Crypto Act — was introduced by Rep. Maxine Waters, along with 14 other Democrat Reps.

The bill aims to prohibit government officials and their families from owning, issuing, promoting or profiting from digital assets while in office, especially when in possession of non-public market information.

The bill follows a wave of recent efforts by lawmakers to limit President Trump's involvement in crypto, sparked by his meme coin launch in January and heightened by the TRUMP dinner, which may already be underway.

The Stop TRUMP in Crypto Act resembles the Modern Emoluments and Malfeasance Enforcement (MEME) Act, introduced by Democratic Congressman Sam Liccardo in February.

Similarly inspired by the launch of TRUMP and MELANIA meme coins, the MEME Act also aims to prohibit government officials and their families from profiting from cryptocurrencies.

While legislators continue to voice their concerns about President Trump's crypto affiliations, some other government officials are unbothered by his connections with the industry.

Commodity Futures Trading Commision (CFTC) Commissioner Summer Mersinger termed the criticisms and attacks on Trump a distraction, sharing that it shifts the focus from more important decisions that could affect digital assets.

"I worry that this distracts from the arguments that we need to be focused on right now," Mersinger said in an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday.

Mersinger highlighted that lawmakers need to focus more on bringing certain markets — such as crypto perpetual futures trading — "onshore" and creating better regulatory frameworks for the industry.

These developments arrived moments before the TRUMP meme coin gala, an event that will see its top 220 holders have a dinner with President Trump.

While there is no official release of the full list of attendees yet, TRON founder Justin Sun stated on X that he emerged as the highest token holder, potentially earning him a private reception with the President along with the top 24 TRUMP holders.

After rising nearly 11% on Thursday, the TRUMP meme coin tapered its daily gains to below 1%, seeing a rejection at the $16 key resistance level. The political meme coin has to clear this resistance to stretch its rally.

TRUMP/USDT 8-hour chart

On the downside, the 50-, 100- and 200-period Simple Moving Averages (SMA) provide dynamic support. A decline below these levels could see its price rest at the $10.44 support. If this level fails, TRUMP could test its lowest support level at $7.36.