Topline
A new “play-to-earn” game promising $1 million in crypto prizes ties gameplay to President Donald Trump’s $TRUMP meme coin — potentially boosting demand for the slumping token — even as House Democrats labeled $TRUMP “an acceleration of the conflict-of-interest concerns underlying the President’s earlier crypto ventures.”
President Donald Trump speaks at a Hanukkah reception at the White House on Dec. 16. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images)
AFP via Getty Images
Key Facts
The X account for Trump’s meme coin, $TRUMP, promoted “The Official Trump Mobile Game, Trump Billionaires Club,” on Dec. 9, directing followers to join a waitlist for the game.
The mobile- and web-based game features a “Monopoly”-style board in which players build real estate empires and “uses $TRUMP coin for all in-game activity,” offering a $1 million pool of prizes denominated in the token, according to its website.
The $TRUMP meme coin is down about 93% from the all-time high of $73.43, which it reached shortly after launching, trading at $5.14 as of 10 p.m. EST on Wednesday, according to CoinGecko.
Freedom45Games LLC, a company registered in Wyoming that appears linked to longtime Trump associate Bill Zanker, produces the game, licensing Trump’s name, image and likeness, according to corporate filings and disclosures on the game’s website.
Open Loot provides the game’s digital marketplace — in September, the company announced a pivot toward “fewer, more strategic partnerships,” including a “mobile pet-collecting adventure” and a “competitive, high-stakes strategy title” that seems to match the description of the new Trump game.
Spokespeople for the Trump Organization, Freedom45Games and Open Loot did not respond to inquiries; Zanker could not be reached for comment; and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Forbes in a statement (that’s now become boilerplate), “The media’s continued attempts to fabricate conflicts of interest are irresponsible and reinforce the public’s distrust in what they read. The president has never engaged, and will never engage, in conflicts of interest.”
Will Trump Billionaires Club Reverse $trump’s Downward Slide?
So far, news of the game — and the increased utility it adds to the token — has had little impact on its price. Before the game was announced, $TRUMP was trading near $5.67. Trading volume jumped after the announcement but has since subsided, according to CoinGecko.
