Hundreds of top investors in President Cryptocurrency Meme Coin Donald Trump gathered on Thursday for exclusive black dinner with presidents who were cursed by some critics as a paid event for dare to play to enrich the most powerful people in the world.
Among those who arrived at the event were the Odom of NBA from the NBA and the fame of “Keeping Up The Kardashians”, Mogul Cryptocurrency Justin Sun and Kendall Davis, a cryptocurrency investor based in Austin, who told ABC News that he “came here to advocate for Crypto.”
Two hundred twenty cryptocurrency traders, including many from abroad, pumping tens of millions of dollars into Trump meme coins to get revenue to gala through contests that provide invitations to top investors – with at least some of the funds flowing directly to the Trump Family Crates.
Promoted on the coin website as “the most exclusive invitation in the world,” a luxurious affair at Trump’s personal golf club in North Virginia Thursday night became the headline by the President himself.
Gala critics, including several members of the Republican Parliament and Cryptocurrency Industry Advocate, have condemned regulation as an opportunity for the President and his family to benefit themselves personally from their ruling position.
Outside the event, dozens of protesters including Senator Jeff Merkley, D -ore. -Seen signed, “America is not for sale,” “No King” and “Stop Crypto Corruption Trump,” and chant slogans from similar sentiments like those present in the venue.
“It seems that Trump sells access to the president through his memen coin, and the money goes directly to his pocket,” said Molly White, a crypto engineer and researcher who has participated in various Trump Crypto businesses. “[Trump] Really using cryptocurrency to increase his personal wealth in a true way -he had never done before. “
MEME COIN TRUMP – A type of digital currency that is often based on internet memes – launched in January, on the night of its inauguration, and the coin value immediately jumped over $ 75 per token. But the coin, known as $ Trump, experienced a sharp decline in the following weeks, below in April around $ 7.
It was then that the gala was announced, framed online as “intimate personal dinner” where the top investor in $ Trump will “hear President Trump directly talk about the future of Crypto.” The top 25 investors, said the ad, will also receive a “special VIP tour” and an exclusive reception with the president before dinner.
President Donald Trump talked about a golden dome missile defense at the White House oval office, May 20, 2025, in Washington.
Chris Kleponis/Epa-Efe/Shutterstock
The next day, the coin value burst into more than 55%. Then continue to fluctuate when those who want to get acceptance to the gala buy coins and others who want to get a profit from the hype that is continued to sell
When the investor scrambled the place in Ventura Online ranking boardThe top 220 collectively spent more than $ 140 million for chairs on the table on Thursday, according to an analysis by the Nansen data analysis company.
Some investors say the opportunity to rub his shoulders with the commander-and, in some cases, promoting their business in front of the most powerful people in the world with admission prices.
Cherry Hsu, an executive at Singapore-based Startup Blockchain, said the company’s co-founder, known online as “ICE,” will attend a gala on behalf of the company after breaking the second finish in the competition. HSU told ABC News that “ICE” really wanted to talk to Trump about “Balancing Regulations with Decentralization” in Cryptocurrency, and that their big investment in Trump meme coins was directly related to the opportunity to interact with the President.
“We want to sit next to Trump, if possible,” he said. “I thought it would be interesting.”
Like “ICE,” most of the other gala participants remained shrouded in their mysteries hidden behind the pseudonym of three or four letters connected to their cryptocurrency wallet-and seemed to be located outside the United States. At least 20 of the top 25 investors seem to be foreign -based, according to an analysis of the non -profit research group that is leaning to the left.
Among those who were present were Australian businessmen, a Crypto fan based in New York, and Justin Sun, a controversial Mogul Crypto China who had become an intermediary between a deep business relationship with the Trump family. In addition to the investment of millions of dollars at $ Trump, Sun has also invested $ 75 million in World Liberty Financial, another Trump supported crypto business. One month after the investment, the SEC lawyer under the government of Trump moved to stop the alleged fraud case against Sun.
In X, Sun wrote that he “was honored to support @potus” and “eager to connect with everyone, talk to crypto, and discuss the future of our industry” at the gala. Sun hasn’t responded to a question from ABC News.
It is still unclear how much Trump stands to get profit from his meme coins. Data analysts suggest that the coin owner, which includes the LLC that has been fully owned by Trump, is likely to have produced millions of dollars in transaction costs. One estimated using data from the analytic company Flipside said Trump and his partner had produced around $ 3 million in transaction fees.
And while the Trump family and his colleagues may have benefited financially, most $ Trump investors have lost. According to CNBC reporting on a blockchain analysis company Chain analysis data58 Wallets have produced millions of their Trump coin investments on May 6 – while around 764,000 Crypto wallets have lost money.
Another analysis by Nansen shows that more than 70% of token holders have caused losses with a total of around $ 21 million since Trump announced the Gala competition, including one unknown investor who lost $ 2.5 million.
After the skepticism of crypto, Trump in recent years has fully embraced cryptocurrency both for his personal business and as part of the government policy platform, declared himself the “Crypto President” and launched the overhaul of US regulations and enforcement of digital currencies.
“All crypto enforcement programs in the Securities Exchange Commission have been completely destroyed,” said former Secretary of SEC Lawyer Reed Stark at ABC News’ this week with George Stephanopoulos earlier this month. “All the SEC investigation of crypto is closed. All SEC litigation involving crypto is dismissed or hung up.”
Because his government has worked to promote cryptocurrency, including the announcement of national cryptocurrency reserves, Trump and his family have buried themselves in efforts related to crypto in recent months.
In addition to the $ trump meme coin, the World Liberty Financial – a separate crypto business launched by two Trump’s old sons – recently partnered in a business agreement of $ 2 billion with investment companies supported by the state of Abu Dhabi and the Crypto Binance exchange platform.
Anna Kelly, a spokesman for the White House, has denied that Trump’s private robbery became Crypto in the number of influences.
“The president works to get a good offer for the American people, not for himself,” Kelly said in a statement. “President Trump only acted for the best interests of the American public – that is why they chose to return to this office, despite years of lies and fake accusations against him and his business from fake news media.”
Gala Thursday played against the background of the battle in the congress of the first law governing a particular type of cryptocurrency, called Genius Act. Democrats for weeks threatened to thwart the law, quoting some conflicts of the President’s interests. Some Republicans have also recognized the attachment of the Trump family in the Crypto industry has made the law “more difficult.”
“That is the concern that some people have. I know that he put his belongings in blind beliefs,” Senator Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., Told ABC News’ Jay O’Brien on Tuesday. “But their children are involved in this asset, and that still makes some people stop.”
Democrats have leversial criticism. Senator Elizabeth Warren, D, Mass., Called Gala Thursday “corruption in front of the eyes.”
“We don’t know whether they get something in return for their big investment at Donald Trump personally,” he said.
Earlier this week, Senator took a key step in advancing the Genius Law Bill, but still faced obstacles in passing full senate.
ABC News’ Allison Pecorin contributed to this report.