Dozens of the World's Wealthiest Cryptocurrency Traders Gathered on Thursday Night

Dozens of the world's wealthiest cryptocurrency traders gathered on Thursday night

Dozens of the world’s wealthiest cryptocurrency traders converged Thursday night for an exclusive black-tie dinner with President Donald Trump following a months-long contest that drew $148 million in global purchases and fierce backlash from Democratic lawmakers.

The event, held at Trump National Golf Club in Potomac Falls, Virginia, brought together the top 220 holders of the $TRUMP token for a final meal with the president ahead of his departure from the White House. It marked an unprecedented combination of politics and crypto, as Trump’s campaign auctioned off a seat at the dinner table with the sitting president to the highest bidders of the token.

“It’s the most exclusive invitation in the world,” the campaign stated in a recent press release.

The dinner brought to a close a unique chapter in Trump’s political legacy, merging his political might with the decentralized realm of blockchain technology. The initiative began earlier this year with the launch of the $TRUMP token, a spinoff of the popular $PEPE token, on the TRON network. The tokens, which sold for fractions of a cent, were briskly traded by a vast retail army, generating billions of dollars in trading volume over several months.

The contest’s structure prioritized early buyers over larger late-stage investors. Notably, some U.S. participants failed to secure a spot despite sizable contributions. Houston-based Freight Technologies, for example, invested $2 million in $TRUMP but was placed 250th, falling outside of the cutoff for the dinner.

The event also drew criticism on Capitol Hill, particularly from Democrats, who say the dinner is a glaring example of “pay-to-play” politics.

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called the gathering “an orgy of corruption,” accusing Trump of using the presidency as a platform to enrich himself.

“Instead of accepting donations like any other president, Trump is auctioning off his influence through a token—inviting the highest bidders to an exclusive dinner in a final, desperate attempt to fill his own pockets,” Warren said in a press release.

Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.)—who introduced legislation this week that would ban sitting presidents from profitering off meme coins while in office—said the administration is engaging in "a tale of corruption."

“Just because the corruption is happening out in the open doesn’t make it any less corrosive,” Murphy said during a Thursday press conference. “This may be the most corrupt event of all.”

The White House, for its part, rejected these claims.

“The president is working to secure good deals for the American people, not for himself. And he only acts in the best interest of the American public,” said deputy press secretary Anna Kelly.

The $TRUMP token itself began as a spinoff of the $PEPE token, merging the meme coin frenzy with Trump’s political persona. The tokens, launched ahead of Trump’s January inauguration, quickly rocketed to a $15 billion market cap before reducing to its current valuation of around $2.1 billion.

Despite the volatility, insiders have profited handsomely. Chainalysis estimates more than $5.2 billion in profits went to top wallets, while over 590,000 retail traders collectively lost nearly $4 billion.

The token’s smart contract design also siphons a fee from every trade, which goes to wallets tied to the project team—reportedly including entities within the Trump Organization—allowing them to profit from daily trading activity. According to Inca Digital, 75% of all proceeds from Trump’s broader crypto venture, World Liberty Financial, have gone directly to the Trump family and affiliated entities.

One notable guest at the dinner is Justin Sun, the Chinese-born founder of the TRON blockchain, who has publicly stated his intention to attend the event. Sun, a top-ranking holder of $TRUMP, claims his investment in the token totals more than $20 million. He was also an early backer of the Trump family’s WLFI token, contributing $75 million.

However, Sun remains under federal investigation in the U.S. for alleged securities fraud, according to a recent report by The New York Times. The investigation, which began in 2021, focuses on whether Sun’s TRON foundation engaged in an initial coin offering (ICO) without proper registration, potentially violating U.S. securities law.