US President Donald Trump has hosted top purchasers of the cryptocurrency that bears his name at a gala dinner, in an event that protesters and his Democrat opponents branded as “corrupt”.

$TRUMP was launched shortly before his inauguration in January, initially rocketing in value before falling sharply afterwards.

“It’s fundamentally corrupt – a way to buy access to the President,” Democrat senator Chris Murphy wrote on X.

Protesters gathered outside the event on Thursday night, which was held at a golf course near Washington DC, some carrying signs reading “stop crypto corruption” and “no kings.”

The White House has rejected the accusations, and in a video of the dinner posted on social…