Two weeks after $TRUMP shocked the market with its “Dinner with Trump” announcement, the hype is starting to settle – and the price is feeling it.
After peaking at over $16 just days after the event was revealed, the token has now dropped back near $11, down more than 12% in just the last 24 hours. That brings it much closer to where it started before the announcement. While the gala clearly gave the coin a second life and sparked massive trading interest, it’s not holding the gains as well as some holders had hoped.
That doesn’t mean the momentum is gone. The leaderboard competition is still going, and there’s a lot of activity from wallets trying to climb the ranks before the May 12 cutoff.
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Leaderboard Strategy Gets Complicated
With just over a week left until the holding period ends, competition is heating up fast – and it’s not just about buying more $TRUMP. Because the rankings are based on average holdings between April 23 and May 12, timing and consistency matter just as much as size.
As of May 4, the average balance for the #220 spot is 2,054 $TRUMP tokens. That might sound reachable, but it’s getting tighter by the hour. Many wallet holders are now increasing their balances late in the game to push their averages higher. Others who were once near the top have started to drop as they reduce their holdings.
Then there’s the VIP tier. Getting into the top 25 is proving to be a whole different level of commitment. Right now, it takes over 128,900 average tokens to even be considered.
The top two wallet holders have more than 1.1 million tokens each. Interestingly, both of them are not just sitting on their averages – they’re actively holding even more $TRUMP than their average would suggest. That means they could end up with even higher final scores once the math is done. Meanwhile, the gap between second and third place is enormous. The third-ranked wallet has under 400,000 tokens, which puts a clear spotlight on the scale of this race.
Will the Price Hold Once the Leaderboard Locks In?
That’s the big question now. A lot of people jumped into $TRUMP not necessarily because of long-term belief in the project, but because they saw a clear short-term reward: dinner with Trump. Once that window closes, the pressure to keep holding could vanish – especially for those who realize they won’t make the cut.
That’s why some traders are already warning of a possible post-May 12 sell-off. If many of the current holders were only in it for the leaderboard, there’s a chance they’ll offload their tokens as soon as their ranking is locked, which could put further pressure on the price.
At the same time, the project hasn’t announced whether there will be more real-life events or incentives in the future. If this gala ends up being a one-time experiment, interest could cool off fast. But if more perks or appearances are introduced, $TRUMP could manage to hold onto some of the momentum it’s gained.
Political Pushback Adds More Drama
While Trump fans have celebrated the event as a rare chance to meet their favorite president face-to-face, not everyone is applauding the idea. Democratic senator Jon Ossoff went as far as calling for Trump’s impeachment over the event, saying the dinner amounts to “selling access to those who enrich him.”
Senator Elizabeth Warren has also stepped in, publicly requesting an investigation into possible legal violations tied to the token and the dinner. While the $TRUMP website clearly states that the token is not part of a political campaign and that Trump is attending only as a guest, the connection between crypto and real-life influence is now firmly on the radar of political opponents.
Still More Than Just a Meme?
Even with the price correction, the $TRUMP coin has managed to do something few other memecoins have pulled off: connect digital tokens to real-world events with real consequences. It’s more than just a pump based on social media – there’s an actual dinner, at a real venue, with a person who’s one of the most watched figures in American politics.
But it’s still a memecoin – and memecoins are fragile by nature. They can gain massive interest overnight, but they can also fall just as fast once the hype fades. Right now, the project is walking a fine line between being a clever community reward – and becoming a short-term marketing stunt. With the leaderboard getting tighter and the cutoff date approaching fast, we’re likely to see more volatility, more shifts, and probably more drama.
Read also: Lessons from Donald Trump Memecoin’s Rise and Fall
