Glad hands

Less than 24 hours after Bitcoin pumped out a new all-time high of about $111.5K early Thursday, May 22, also known as Bitcoin Pizza Day, the largest crypto struck yet another new ATH of $111.8K. That was yesterday at about 2:45 p.m. (EST). BTC as of early Friday sat closer to $111.2K.

Treasury yields remain unsettlingly high, with the 10-year note's yield hovering near 4.5% as of yesterday, prompting safety questions. However, fresh tariff concerns as of this morning have led yields lower along with Dow futures.

BTC's romper-stomper Thursday would have owned more headlines were it not for that private dinner held by President Trump on behalf of more than 200 owners of the memecoin with which he is closely associated, Official Trump (TRUMP). The event, held at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, not far from the White House, was besieged by reporters, camera crews and about 100 protestors raising ethics concerns by way of their colorful placards that said things such as "Stop crypto corruption" and "America is not for sale."

If it were (wait, is it not?), then blockchain analysis should tell us what it costs. Indeed, NBC News, citing Nansen data, came up with some figures. Between $55K and $37.7M — that's the range of the outlay for each of the 220 winners of an auction-like contest to amass the biggest stash of TRUMP in order to dine with President Trump. Thus, the average cost of a seat was more than $1M. Together, this cohort spent $394M on TRUMP coins.

President Trump attended this event on his own time, and it was not a White House event, a White House spokeswoman said. She added, responding to questions about perceived conflicts, that Trump's assets are in a blind trust controlled by his children and also that his business acumen is what endeared him to the American voters.

“It’s distasteful and an unnecessary distraction,” Nic Carter, a Trump supporter and partner at Castle Island Ventures, told ABC News.

Carter said the president is “hugging us to death” with his private crypto businesses.

“We would much rather that he passes common sense legislation and leave it at that,” Carter added.

Nah, Trump is fueling a new American crypto boom, said one not-so-secret guest, Tron founder Justin Sun, after the dinner concluded. He also defended memecoins. They have merit, he said (CoinDesk).

Incidentally, Sun received a Trump-branded Golden Tourbillon watch for being the top TRUMP holder (CryptoNews).

Sun, who once paid $6M to eat a banana taped to a wall, is correct as far as memecoins having merit. Or so scream the meme-owning masses. Some 4,700 memecoins enjoy a total market capitalization of $82.2B. Collectively, as a category, memecoins gained 6.6% in 24 hours. At the same time, the total crypto market ($3.64T) shed 1.4%.

Some of the best-performing memecoins in the past 24 hours include FARTCOIN (+5%), PEPE (+8.5%) and BONK (+11%). All of the largest memecoins (and there are eight of them with market caps of at least $1B) are in the green — except for one.

Official Trump (TRUMP) fell 9% in the past 24 hours. It had been rallying. In a classic hype-drenched move, TRUMP closed in on $16 yesterday shortly before the parade of luxury cars began pulling up to Trump National for the newest most famous crypto meal ever, served on the 15th anniversary of the day that a developer bought two pizza pies for 10,000 BTC, at the time worth about $40 or, when converted to the present-day value of presidential memecoins, roughly 2.75 TRUMP. 

Actually, not even. TRUMP's grip on $15 disappeared into the dusk. It was still light out when the gala crypto dinner with President Trump was finished. A moment in time, fleeting, strange, probably never to be forgotten.

"Did you get to see the helicopter?" Trump asked attendee Justin Sun who posted a video of the president entering the ritzy reception.

"Yeah, super cool!" Sun replied.

By 4 a.m. (EST) today, TRUMP had lost its $14 handle. However, over the past month, TRUMP has gained 50%. It has a market cap of $2.79B, making it the 52nd-largest digital asset, according to CoinGecko.

TRUMP's all-time high is $73.43 on Jan. 19, one day before his inauguration. It's down 81% since then, according to CoinGecko.

Bitcoin trading volume is through the roof as the price of the most enormous coin lumbers onward like Hulk on a mission to find a shirt that even somewhat fits him. BTC's spot price is up about 19% year-to-date, alluringly so, particularly relative to the greenback (-8% YTD).

Spot trading volume for BTC in the past 48 hours hit $150B, reflecting the highest two-day total in nearly two months, per Decrypt, citing CoinMarketCap. BTC futures trading volume is also spiking. Wednesday saw $200B worth of BTC futures change hands, marking the third-highest daily total of this year, according to CoinGlass.

Meanwhile, traders are getting ready for a potent new form of derivative product in the U.S.

Decrypt reports that crypto perpetual futures are on the to-do list at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). "Perpetual markets generally boast greater trading volume than their spot counterparts, Decrypt said.

CFTC Commissioner Summer Mersinger, who is set to depart the agency, said Thursday these instruments could come to market in the U.S. "very soon."