Top Trump memecoin holders used a clever trading strategy to win a $1200 dinner with Trump without major financial risk.

Over $320M is being funneled into Trump-themed crypto projects, raising questions over “pay-to-play” concerns and political influence.

Top Trump memecoin holders used a clever trading strategy to win a $1,200 dinner with Trump without major financial risk, while over $320M is being funnelled into Trump-themed crypto projects.

What Happened: Five crypto traders who pulled off a last-minute entry into the Top 25 to win an evening meal with former President Donald Trump at his golf club next month said the meal will just cost them $1,200 each.

The five — David Christensen, Peter Christensen, Kyle Davis, Josh Ravipati and Steven Hart — were among the 220 time-weighted top holders of the Trump memecoin over the past three weeks.

Usually, it takes about $54,500 in Trump memecoin holdings to get through. But the five discovered a smarter way to do it in less.

They bought the memecoin, shorted the same amount to offset the risk, and then sold both positions as soon as the dinner winners were announced.

Christensen, who runs AirdropAlert.com, said that with this strategy, attending the dinner didn’t really cost them anything, as they just paid some fees.

“I didn’t even think it was in the possibility I’d go in to meet the president of the United States. We figured it won’t cost us that much to compete, so we gave it a shot and we made it,” 39-year-old Christensen said.

They joined the memecoin dinner contest at the last minute when they saw it wasn’t as tough as they expected. They even built a program to track the top holders and bought more tokens at the last minute to secure their spots.

Earlier this week, Freight Technologies announced plans to raise $20 million for a Trump token treasury to be used for U.S.-Mexico trade.

Also, China-linked GD Culture Group is planning to create a crypto reserve with Bitcoin (BTC) and Trump tokens in a bid to raise $300 million for a new music streaming service.

The Impact: A recent report by TokenInsight stated that over $320 million is being funnelled into Trump-themed crypto projects.

These projects are being launched by both U.S. and China-based companies, with the aim of expanding into new markets and raising capital.

However, some have raised concerns over "pay-to-play" implications and potential for political influence.

Moreover, Democrats have expressed worries over the administration’s delay in finalizing stablecoin rules. These concerns stem from the potential involvement of Trump’s family members in these crypto projects, which could create conflicts of interest.

Recently, investors have invested over $148 million for a chance to dine with the President, as he called it the “most exclusive invitation.” The coin is currently being traded at $13.20.

At one point, the memecoin’s value had soared to $15 billion but has since dropped to about $2.7 billion.