Foreign guests, Iran war riffs, and the charm of Mar-a-Lago

President Donald Trump attended a conference for the top holders of his meme coin on Saturday, delivering nearly an hour of off-the-cuff remarks to an enthusiastic crowd of crypto investors, tech executives, hedge fund managers, and MAGA enthusiasts.

The event, held at Mar-a-Lago, comes as the Trump family’s vast cryptocurrency portfolio faces increasing scrutiny and even divisiveness on Capitol Hill. among Republicans This is because important virtual currency-related bills are stalled in Congress.

But the president seemed undaunted this weekend, entertaining crypto supporters with a glitzy celebration at the heart of his political empire.

Admission to the crypto conference was given only to the top few hundred Trump meme coiners. The top 29 investors in the token also now have access to an additional VIP-only gathering with the President. The announcement of this event initially caused the price of the Trump meme coin to soar. $Trumpfrom $2.93 to $4.37, an increase of almost 50%. However, the coin’s value has since fallen significantly and is trading at just $2.51 at the time of writing. The token has fallen over 96% since its launch in January 2025.

Despite the decline in token prices, conference attendees who spoke at decryption Participants said they were generally satisfied with the event. The main reason was that I was able to visit Mar-a-Lago, a very important venue in Trumpworld.

There were a lot of them too cheap More qualified to attend this rally than last year’s first Trump meme coin dinner. Many investors paid millions of dollars each to attend the inaugural event, hoping for a personal audience with the world’s most powerful man.

But as it turned out, President Trump only gave brief remarks at a dinner at a golf club in Virginia and didn’t take any time to chat with attendees. The latest pricing appears to have been adjusted to meet these new expectations. said one participant at Saturday’s Mar-a-Lago meeting. decryption He qualified by purchasing just $3,000 worth of presidential meme coins.

The attendee, who also attended last year’s Meme Coin Dinner, said he preferred this year’s event because of the Mar-a-Lago setting.

Multiple guests at Saturday’s Meme Coin conference said the crowd was mainly foreigners. Three guests spoke decryption At least half of the participants appeared to have flown in from Asia.

decryption We asked the White House for a list of those attending the meeting, but did not receive a response.

On Saturday afternoon, President Trump first met briefly with the top 29 meme coin holders to discuss their favorite topics, including cryptocurrencies, AI, and relations with China and President Xi Jinping. Notably absent from the talk, according to multiple attendees, was Justin Sun, the controversial cryptocurrency entrepreneur and most historically important figure. top holder of $Trump token.

Last week, Mr. Sun submitted the following documents: lawsuit He has spoken out against the Trump family’s cryptocurrency platform, World Liberty Financial, accusing the company of fraud. World Liberty representatives in turn accused Sun of misconduct. The SEC, chaired by Paul Atkins, who was appointed by Trump last month, solve Entrepreneur’s long-standing fraud case, the decision is reportedly The agency’s executive director resigned shortly thereafter.

After speaking briefly in private with memecoin holders, the president made off-the-cuff remarks to the entire meeting for nearly 45 minutes. According to multiple attendees, attendees excitedly took selfies in front of Trump’s podium as he discussed the ongoing war with Iran, cryptocurrency regulation and former President Joe Biden.

Trump joked that Iran no longer knows who its leader is (a phrase he has often said in recent days) and also called Biden “the worst thing that happens to old people,” a familiar jab that elicited the biggest laughs in the room, attendees said.

“It was the same old thing,” one guest said decryption. “He repeats the same thing every time he gives a speech. I could almost lip-sync it.”

But Trump stayed “much longer” this time than he did at last year’s Meme Coin Dinner, so it’s hard to complain, the guest said.

Immediately after finishing his speech, the President departed for Palm Beach International Airport. So, when someone asked me on the tarmac, decryption President Trump did not discuss why he chose to attend his memecoin conference, but instead emphasized the importance of supporting the industry as a whole.

“I truly feel that I have an obligation as president to make sure that every industry in our country is doing well,” the president said.

“Cryptocurrency is a big industry,” he continued. “In fact, it’s becoming somewhat mainstream. Banks have it, people have it…We’re way ahead of China in AI, and we’re also ahead in cryptocurrency.”

President Trump then returned to Washington to attend the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Gunman They managed to break in later that night.

Returning to the conference, attendees listened to a panel discussion on neurotechnology and “Resilience in Sport and Life.” One audience member said his favorite speech of the day was not from the president but from motivational speaker Tony Robbins, who urged the audience to embrace either AI agents or hard physical labor as technology reshapes the job market.

This audience member had previously attempted to live stream President Trump’s speech on their cellphone, but the stream was discovered by Secret Service agents and shut down. The guest was said to be “quite shaken up” by the experience.

After all the speakers, including former boxer Mike Tyson, took to the stage, the group mingled at happy hour by the pool. One participant liked this, but complained that the time was too short.

Bill Zanker, a key figure in Trump’s memecoin operation, was in attendance throughout the day. Zanker is a longtime friend of the president and was his brand’s quarterback. shoeslook, and NFT Venture — usually keeps a low profile. The businessman appears to have hitchhiked with Trump on Air Force One from Washington to Mar-a-Lago on Friday night. when approaching decryption On the tarmac at the Palm Beach airport, Zanker hurried away and declined to be interviewed.

But Zanker, safely within the walls of Mar-a-Lago, ingested much. photograph with participants on Saturday. At the Meme Coin conference, he went ahead and announced the latest gamified service for Trump Meme Coin enthusiasts: the “Trump Club” for top token holders. promising “Invite-only luxury suites, private dinners, and the most elite and exclusive experiences at the world’s biggest sporting events.”

said one Trump meme coin holder who attended both last year’s and this year’s rallies. decryption He is excited about the plan. He said he remains optimistic. $Trump He says the token will one day return to its previous high, but for now he is focused on demonstrating loyalty to the president.

“He doesn’t owe us anything,” said a token holder who has supported Trump since 2015. “If anything, we owe him.”