{"text":[[{"start":11.9,"text":"The price crypto traders were willing to pay for a ticket to a “VIP reception” with Donald Trump this weekend plunged relative to last year's event, in the latest sign of the digital asset community’s waning interest in the US president’s foray into memecoins."}],[{"start":26,"text":"The 297 biggest holders of the $TRUMP coin during a specific window are granted access to a conference on Saturday featuring speeches by the president, boxing champion Mike Tyson and Tether chief executive Paolo Ardoino, as well as a gala lunch with Trump. "}],[{"start":42.55,"text":"Of these, the top 29 qualifying holders are given access to a VIP reception with the president, as well as “other Superstar guests”. "}],[{"start":51.8,"text":"Analysis by the FT shows that winners of a VIP ticket held a median of $539,000 of $TRUMP, or about 191,000 coins, at the end of the contest. That compares with approximately $3.28mn, or 250,000 coins, last year."}],[{"start":71.6,"text":"The discounted prices suggest traders have largely fallen out of love with the Trump memecoin, despite the offer of access to the president. The coin is down 93 per cent from its peak, according to data from CoinMarketCap, mirroring a broader collapse in the prices of memecoins — crypto tokens linked to online trends that function purely as vehicles for speculation."}],[{"start":93.3,"text":"“Memecoins have gotten wrecked,” said Austin Campbell, managing partner of crypto advisory firm Zero Knowledge Consulting. “The Trump brand is not enough of a carrot to elevate them.”"}],[{"start":104.55,"text":"The industry’s relationship with the president “was a shotgun marriage” after regulatory crackdowns under prior administrations and the name no longer holds the same value, he added. "}],[{"start":null,"text":"
"}],[{"start":114.95,"text":"Trump, who has pledged to make the US the “crypto capital of the world”, has ushered in landmark digital assets legislation and light-touch enforcement, but his personal ventures in the space have proved controversial. "}],[{"start":126.95,"text":"The contest has done little to buoy the flagging price of $TRUMP, and while the announcement of it in March briefly pushed it from $2.90 back up to $4.05, it had fallen to $2.88 by the end of the competition on April 14."}],[{"start":142.1,"text":"Many winners appear to have liquidated their $TRUMP holdings since the contest ended. The total number of tokens held by the winning accounts identified by the FT fell from 17mn at its peak to 9.7mn a week later."}],[{"start":157.04999999999998,"text":"The FT was able to identify the Solana wallets of 279 of the 297 competition winners invited to the conference on Saturday, as well as 27 of the 29 VIP winners invited to the reception with the president."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":171.39999999999998,"text":"Chinese crypto investor Justin Sun, who in 2024 paid more than $6mn for a banana taped to a wall at a contemporary art exhibition, once again topped the leaderboard, with holdings of about $9.4mn of $TRUMP coin throughout the competition. "}],[{"start":189.14999999999998,"text":"US securities regulators settled a fraud case and dropped charges against Sun. In recent weeks, Sun has criticised a different Trump-backed crypto firm, World Liberty Financial, and filed a lawsuit against the firm, accusing it of fraud. "}],[{"start":202.74999999999997,"text":"The contest is the second such gathering since Trump launched the memecoin in January 2025 shortly before his inauguration."}],[{"start":211.39999999999998,"text":"Unlike last year, when winners of the contest raked in profits after the price of $TRUMP jumped, bidders this year do not appear to have profited from the competition, with the coin’s price dipping below its $2.90 price when the contest began. "}],[{"start":226.29999999999998,"text":"The US first lady, Melania Trump, has a separate memecoin, which is down around 94 per cent from its peak. "}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":232.99999999999997,"text":"Senate Democrats earlier this month requested more information on the president’s role in the event to “fully understand the extent to which President Trump and his family are profiting”, according to a letter sent to the organiser, a Trump ally named Bill Zanker. "}],[{"start":247.59999999999997,"text":"Zanker and White House representatives did not respond to requests for comment. "}],[{"start":252.39999999999998,"text":"Points were awarded to the accounts holding the greatest average amount of $TRUMP coin from March 12 to April 14, as well as for “qualifying Trump Sneaker, Watch or Fragrances purchases”, according to the GetTrumpMemes competition page."}],[{"start":266.4,"text":"The winners will also be awarded a Trump fragrance, a “Fight Fight Fight Red Beauty Watch”, a commemorative trading card and a poster. "}],[{"start":275.34999999999997,"text":"Billionaire tech investor Tim Draper, who last year gave $1mn to the pro-Trump Super Pac Maga Inc, told the FT he is honoured to speak at the event about bitcoin and how businesses could potentially pay their taxes in the cryptocurrency, “without the need for intermediaries like accountants, auditors, book-keepers or IRS agents”."}],[{"start":296.95,"text":"It is also possible that the president backs out of the event at the last minute. Fine print on the contest’s website makes clear that Trump “may not be able to attend” and the event could be “cancelled for any reason”."}],[{"start":309.59999999999997,"text":"Nevertheless, earlier this month Trump posted on Truth Social an image of himself, as well as the date and location of the event. And a social media post from the venture promised attendees that Saturday at Mar-a-Lago will be “HISTORIC! See you soon!”"}],[{"start":333.2,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1777026458_4733.mp3"}