Trump hosted an exclusive dinner Thursday night for the 220 biggest buyers of his $TRUMP (TRUMP-OFFICIAL-USD) meme coin

President Trump hosted an exclusive dinner Thursday night for the 220 biggest buyers of his $TRUMP (TRUMP-OFFICIAL-USD) meme coin, an event that stirred controversy

President Trump hosted an exclusive dinner Thursday night for the 220 biggest buyers of his $TRUMP (TRUMP-OFFICIAL-USD) meme coin, an event that stirred controversy in the nation’s capital during a pivotal moment for the crypto world.

“The past administration made your lives miserable,” Mr. Trump told the dinner guests, according to account from the New York Times.

The Biden administration "persecuted crypto innovators, and we’re bringing them back into the USA where they belong,” he added, according to another account from the Wall Street Journal.

The highly publicized event at his private Virginia golf club was the source of widespread unease among Democrats, who highlighted their conflict of interest concerns, and even some GOP lawmakers.

"This is my president that we’re talking about, but I am willing to say that this gives me pause," Wyoming Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis said of the dinner in a NBC interview earlier this month.

"There is a big ‘For Sale’ sign on the White House lawn,” Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) said at a press conference Thursday. “US policy for sale.”

Invitees to the gala won their invitations by participating in a form of auction that identified the 220 with the largest holdings of Trump's coin, based on their average holdings between April 23 and May 12.

These investors spent an estimated $148 million on the $TRUMP coin to secure their seats at the dinner, with the 25 largest spending over $111 million, according to an analysis from crypto firm Inca Digital.

An even more exclusive set of the 25 biggest holders were promised a "special tour” and "private VIP reception with the President,” according to the coin’s website, which is owned by Fight Fight Fight LLC.

That Delaware-registered organization and another Trump Organization affiliate called CIC Digital LLC own a combined 80% of the meme coin’s tokens. A share of revenue earned from the coin’s trading volume also goes to these Trump family affiliates.

Between January and the end of April, more than $320 million in trading fees have flowed to wallets tied to the token’s creator, according to an analysis from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. That includes some $1.3 million between the dinner announcement and May 1.

Honored to support @POTUS and grateful for the invitation from @GetTrumpMemes to attend President Trump’s Gala Dinner as his TOP fan!As the top holder of $TRUMP, I’m excited to connect with everyone, talk crypto, and discuss the future of our industry. 🇺🇸

The attendees ranged from former NBA player Lamar Odom to crypto billionaire Justin Sun, who said he won first place in the dinner competition.

"It’s really nice to be here today with, like, everyone in crypto,” Sun in a video posted on X.

Founder of the blockchain network Tron, the 34-year-old Sun already has at least one link to the president’s affairs. He is known as the biggest backer of World Liberty Financial, a crypto business run by CEO Zach Witkoff, son of Steve Witkoff, the president’s envoy to the Middle East.

Sun invested $75 million into World Liberty and helped bootstrap the project’s initial token launch by buying $30 million of the token (WLF). He's since appeared on stage at two separate conferences with World Liberty executives.

“Justin, you've been instrumental in our success, so thank you,” Witkoff told Sun while onstage at a Dubai conference earlier this month that also included the president’s son Eric Trump.

The SEC previously sued Sun and his crypto companies for alleged fraud in 2023, but the case was paused in February.

Democrat lawmakers — including Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) — pointed to the dinner and Trump's other crypto ties as examples of what they view to be the president's corruption.

“Donald Trump’s dinner is an orgy of corruption,” Warren said Thursday. “That’s what this is all about. We are here today to speak about exactly one topic: corruption, corruption in its ugliest form.”

The White House has consistently maintained that there are no conflicts of interest, noting that Trump's assets are managed in a trust overseen by his children and he has no role in operations, and his press secretary repeated that point Thursday.

"I have also stated previously from this podium that the president is abiding by all conflict of interest laws that are applicable to the president, and I think everybody, the American public believe it's absurd for anyone to insinuate that this president is profiting off of this," Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

The Trump family