Trump hosts exclusive dinner for top $TRUMP memecoin investors
What's the story
US President Donald Trump hosted an exclusive dinner for the top investors of his cryptocurrency, $TRUMP memecoin.
The event was held at his Northern Virginia golf club and was attended by 220 top holders of the digital currency. The gathering comes amid increasing scrutiny over potential influence peddling.
Among the prominent guests was Justin Sun, a Chinese-born crypto entrepreneur and founder of the TRON blockchain.
Sun has invested $20 million in the coin and $93 million in Trump-related crypto overall.
Twitter Post
Proud supporter of President Trump: Sun
As the top holder of $TRUMP and proud supporter of President Trump, it was an honor to attend the Trump Gala Dinner by @GetTrumpMemes.
— H.E. Justin Sun 🍌 (@justinsuntron) May 23, 2025
Thank you @POTUS for your unwavering support of our industry!#MakeCryptoGreatAgain🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/Yy2TuWEgzT
Fallout
Dinner has drawn criticism from Democrats
The dinner has drawn criticism primarily from Democrats, with some concern from Republicans, who see it as a clandestine meeting where rich people, perhaps even foreign nationals, can try to sway Trump.
Senator Chris Murphy slammed the event on X as "fundamentally corrupt - a way to buy access to the President."
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed such claims as "ridiculous," stressing Trump had given up his luxurious business life for public service.
Dinner event
Nearly half of the attendees suffered losses
Last month, Trump had announced that the 220 crypto wallets with the largest holdings of $TRUMP between April 23 and May 12 would win a ticket to a private dinner.
While Trump has called his crypto token "The Greatest of them all," nearly half of the gala's guests have lost money buying it.
According to The Guardian's analysis, 95 out of the 220 winners have incurred a combined loss of roughly $9 million from buying $TRUMP since its January launch.
Event details
Top holders spent between $55,000 and $37.7 million
The top 220 holders together spent $394 million on $TRUMP coins, with the top seven on the leaderboard having spent $10 million each.
The dinner ticket winners shelled out between $55,000 and $37.7 million to attend, with the price of one seat averaging out to about $1 million.
However, 40% of the gala attendees own less than one token.
Coin ownership
Trump-affiliated entities own 80% of $TRUMP
The Trump administration isn't directly administering $TRUMP. However, the president could profit from token sales and trading fees.
Trump-affiliated entities, notably CIC Digital LLC and Fight Fight Fight LLC, issued the coin and own 80% of its supply, which will be gradually unlocked over his term.
These entities also made $320 million in trading fees as of May 6, data from Chainalysis published by CNBC showed.
Regulatory stance
SEC has classified meme coins as 'akin to collectibles'
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has classified meme coins as "akin to collectibles" and thus "neither meme coin purchasers nor holders are protected by the federal securities laws."
Meaning, $TRUMP sales wouldn't be subject to the same disclosures required of stocks or bonds, nor would Trump's affiliates be considered unregistered issuers of securities.