$1 Million in Trump Meme Coin Distributed to American Businesses

US President Donald Trump's meme coin, TRUMP, has distributed $1 million worth of tokens to 10 American businesses as part of the America First Business Challenge. The competition was announced in April at Trump's Mar-a-Lago crypto conferences and received over 600 applications before 36 were approved.

The winners were awarded with a total of one $250,000 grant, six $100,000 grants, and three $50,000 grants. However, there's a twist - to be eligible for the grant, businesses had to purchase TRUMP tokens beforehand.

According to GetTrumpMemes.com, the token has no payment function or commercial integration, and its sole purpose is as an expression of support for Trump's ideals. The website states that winners cannot use the tokens to pay staff or suppliers, but rather must sell them.

The $1 million grant pool is worth less than one 300th of the estimated $320 million in insider trading fees collected since the token's launch. TRUMP has seen significant trading volume, with over $642 million traded per day, and its price has risen by 25% in the last 24 hours.

However, critics argue that the contest was nothing more than a way to pump up the token's price, as investors spent over $145 million buying TRUMP before competing. The lawmakers who wrote to the Justice Department in May 2025 stated that at least 34 of the top 220 investors sold their meme coin holdings after the contest closed.