Latest news with #TRUMPcoin
Daily Mail
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Inside Trump's lavish multimillion-dollar crypto dinner as White House keeps guest list secret
More than 200 wealthy crypto bros descended on Donald Trump 's Washington D.C. golf course on Thursday evening for a private dinner with the president. They were treated to filet mignon and warm lava cake inside the two-story clubhouse at the golf course, which sits on 800 acres in Northern Virginia on the banks of the Potomac River. The White House kept the guest list a secret but many of the invited posted about the event on social media, showing off photos of Marine One landing and the massive ballroom filled with guests in black-tie. Democrats and ethic experts criticized the event, calling it a way for Trump to enrich himself. But the president pushed back against the charge in remarks to guests, arguing that Hunter Biden and the Biden family made a fortune off the Oval Office. 'Ultimately, no matter what it is, I always put the country way ahead of the business,' he said, adding 'You can't say that about Hunter.' Trump pointed out President Joe Biden's son Hunter sold paintings for thousands of dollars: '500,000 for a painting.' Video of his remarks were posted on social media by attendees. The dinner was hosted by the president's cryptocurrency venture for the biggest holders of the $TRUMP meme coin. Trump pitched the value of the venture when he addressed the room. 'A lot of sense in crypto, a lot of common sense,' the president said. He wore the blue suit and red tie he had been wearing at the White House all day. Many of the investors in the cryptocurrency are foreign and it's unclear what kind of background check they went through in order to be near the ballroom. Some had to navigate a sea of protesters outside of the club, walking through the shouting throngs on their way into the event. Inside, guests were greeted by a poster featuring Trump in a tux, his fist upheld in his classic fight stance, with the words 'Fight Fight Fight' written in gold. Dinner was field green salad, filet mignon, pan seared halibut, and warm lava cake, according to photos of the event posted by guests on social media. Trump stayed about an hour before boarding Marine One and flying off into the sunset to return to the White House. When he arrived back on the South Lawn, he told reporters the dinner was 'good. Very good.' The event was to thank investors for their $400 million investment in Trump's memecoin. The official website for the dinner describes it as 'the most exclusive invitation in the world.' The average investor spent $1,788,994.42 to attend the dinner, according to an analysis by the blockchain analytics company Nansen given to NBC News. But the price of admission ranged from $55,000 to $37.7 million. The top seven winners each spent more than $10 million. The invitation also promised the 25 biggest investors special access to the president via a private reception and special White House tour. 'FOR THE TOP 25 COIN HOLDERS, YOU are Invited to an Exclusive Reception before Dinner with YOUR FAVORITE PRESIDENT!,' the website reads. 'PLUS, We have separately by us arranged for a Special VIP Tour for you - so make sure you stay in town.' Democrats and ethics experts blasted the dinner as blatant corruption meant to enrich the president. The White House pushed back, pointing out the president's finances are in a blind trust. 'All of the [resident's assets are in a blind trust, which is managed by his children,' press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in her press briefing. She blasted suggestions the president was profiting off his office. '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 the presidency. This president was incredibly successful before giving it all up to serve our country publicly, not only has he lost wealth, but he also almost lost his life. He has sacrificed a lot to be here. And to suggest otherwise is, frankly, completely absurd,' she said. Many of the guests were anonymous as they bought the currency through pseudonyms, registering with user names to make their purchases. The event brought protesters. Outside the entrance to the golf club, there were about 100, lining both sides of the street, yelling 'shame, shame, shame.' The waved signs that read 'Honk to Remove Trump,' 'Stop Crypto Corruption,' 'Pay your fair share,' and 'America is not for sale.' When it came to the evening's attendees, an analysis by Bloomberg News showed that all but six of the top 25 holders who registered for the dinner used foreign exchanges that say they exclude customers living in the US. And at least 56% of the top holders used similar offshore exchanges. The $TRUMP memecoins are sold on exchange markets and the money does not go to Trump directly. But about 80 percent of $TRUMP coins are held by Trump Organization affiliates, meaning if they rise in value so does the president's portfolio. Trump's cryptocurrency also makes money for those groups simply by being traded. For every $TRUMP coin that's traded, a transaction fee is taken. Chainalysis, another cryptocurrency research firm, estimated the memecoin made nearly $900,000 in transaction fees within the first two days of the contest being announced.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bitcoin price surges to fresh record ahead of Trump's crypto dinner
Talk about timing. Less than 24 hours before President Donald Trump was set to host a gala for crypto investors, the price of bitcoin hit an all-time high — a confluence of events likely to bolster Trump's reputation as a champion of digital assets even as the dinner has raised ethical concerns. Around 12 p.m. Thursday, bitcoin's price had settled at about $111,300. It hit an all-time high of $$111,875 at approximately 3:30 a.m., the crypto publication CoinDesk reported. Trump is scheduled to preside over a dinner at his property outside Washington, D.C., on Thursday that will convene the top recent holders of his $TRUMP coin cryptocurrency. More than 200 mostly anonymous crypto buyers, many of them from overseas, spent a total of $394 million on the so-called memecoin, with purchases ranging from $55,000 to $37.7 million, according to the blockchain analytics company Nansen. The gala has been in the works for months — part of Trump's push to both reward and continue to curry favor with the crypto crowd. It's a group that gave millions to the president's campaign and ended up as the largest single donor bloc during the 2024 electoral contest. While some bitcoin backers have been left disappointed by the lack of commitment to purchasing the token on the open market as a means of backing a strategic reserve, Trump has reined in the aggressive regulatory enforcement of the crypto industry that was a hallmark of the Biden administration. Yet even some longtime bitcoin investors were caught by surprise when Trump announced his $TRUMP coin on the eve of his inauguration. Even as its price has declined following an initial surge, Trump and his family pocketed millions from the coins' sales. Critics have decried the memecoin dinner as raising conflicts of interest, foreign-influence concerns and even constitutional issues. The top buyer, Justin Sun, is a Chinese national previously sought by U.S. law enforcement officials. Trump has sidestepped these complaints. While $TRUMP coin is overseen by Trump's private corporate organization, White House officials said in an earlier statement to NBC News, "The President is working to secure GOOD deals for the American people, not for himself" through events like the dinner, and that he "only acts in the best interests of the American public." That appears to include an ongoing focus on the crypto sector. It comes as bitcoin's price has surged amid renewed fears about the global economy and a worldwide government borrowing glut and subsequent sell-off in bonds. For some, it's made alternative assets like bitcoin more attractive. Yet even as the token's price scales new heights, there remains debate about whether it can truly serve as an effective hedge against broader market volatility. With a handful of exceptional episodes, bitcoin's price has in recent years tended to track those of other tech stocks — but with even wider price swings. It's also been tightly correlated with Federal Reserve interest rate decisions: When the Fed has cut rates, bitcoin's price has surged. When they've sought to keep rates higher, its price has declined. These trends have run counter to the narrative pushed by some bitcoin backers that the cryptocurrency can serve as a hedge against inflation or an alternative to the U.S. dollar. But the latest surge in bitcoin's price has come even as many tech stocks and the broader S&P 500 have declined. Some of the lift has been bolstered by the passage of the GENIUS Act, which is designed to give official government approval to the issuance of privately backed digital tokens that help crypto exchanges process transactions. While the bill is ostensibly tailored to address these so-called stablecoins, any increase in the pool of buyers naturally serves to support bitcoin's price — and give renewed hope that the digital token can achieve a kind of escape velocity against almost any economic backdrop. "It's not going away, it's going to be part of a lot of portfolios, even if it's just 2-3%," said Wedbush Securities finance group managing director Dan Ives. "It's still a risky asset, but the deregulatory environment has changed the way people view crypto as an investment." This article was originally published on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Justin Sun Emerges as Donald Trump Memecoin's Top Holder With $21.9M Stake
Tron founder Justin Sun said he's the top holder of the TRUMP memecoin, entitling him to attend a private dinner and a VIP reception with U.S. President Donald Trump this week. A Solana address apparently associated with Sun holds roughly $21.9 million worth of the TRUMP coin, placing him at the top of the leaderboard in a sweepstakes that rewards the biggest token holders with access to Trump at a golf club near Washington, D.C. The leaderboard appears on a website publicized by Trump on his X account. Sun is also a backer of World Liberty Financial, the decentralized finance project backed by the Trump family, having invested invested $75 million. The project's co-founder, Zak Folkman, has credited the Chinese-born crypto billionaire for its success. The TRUMP token debuted just days before the president's inauguration in January and was met with criticism from across the crypto industry and elsewhere. Critics pointed to its timing of the launch and its structure, which allocates a large portion of the supply to Trump-affiliated insiders. Democratic lawmakers, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, have argued that Trump's crypto effort is eroding ethical norms. They've introduced bills to block public officials from launching or endorsing digital assets. The White House responded to the scrutiny by downplaying it, rejecting allegations of conflicts of interest and framing the criticism as partisan disruption. Trump's memecoin, it's worth noting, saw a major price rise over the event's announcement. The dinner falls on Bitcoin Pizza Day, which commemorates one of the earliest bitcoin BTC transactions. TRUMP is trading at $14.40, up 8.3% in the last 24 hours. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Bloomberg
20-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Crypto Entrepreneur Justin Sun Will Join Trump's Memecoin Dinner
Controversial crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun announced that he's joining a high-profile dinner with the US President Donald Trump later this week. Sun, the China-born founder of the Tron blockchain, said on the social media platform X that he is the top holder of TRUMP coin, a memecoin launched by Trump-linked entities, and will be attending the dinner at Trump National Golf Club in Potomac Falls, Virginia, on Thursday. Sun did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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WIRED
16-05-2025
- Business
- WIRED
The Trump Memecoin Dinner Winners Are Getting Rid of Their Coins
May 16, 2025 12:45 PM Many of the crypto investors preparing to attend an exclusive gala dinner with US president Donald Trump have offloaded the coins that won them their seats. Photograph: Kirill Aleksandrovich/ Shutterstock Next week, a coterie of crypto investors will share an extravagant dinner with US president Donald Trump at his golf club in Washington D.C. They won their seats at the dinner by purchasing large amounts of Trump's personal crypto coin. But since their places were confirmed on Monday, almost half have gotten rid of their holdings whether by selling the coins or transferring them to different wallets, a WIRED analysis shows. The team behind the TRUMP coin announced the dinner competition on April 23, promising to invite the top 220 holders to dine alongside the president. The top 25, meanwhile, would qualify for a doubly exclusive tour and pre-dinner reception, the website explained. The organizers selected the attendees based on who had bought the most TRUMP and held their coins the longest between the announcement date and May 12. Although a few of the winners have identified themselves publicly—like Sheldon Xia, founder of crypto exchange BitMart—the identities of most are concealed behind leaderboard usernames and alphanumeric crypto wallet addresses. To claim a spot at the dinner, investors had to purchase at least 4,196 units of the TRUMP coin, worth about $54,000 at the time of writing. To qualify for the reception, the VIPs held around 325,000 TRUMP coins on average, worth roughly $4.2 million. At the time of writing, 100 of the 220 attendees have done away with practically their entire TRUMP stash, including 17 of the 25 VIPs. One VIP, going by the username Woo, appears to have made a $2.5 million profit on their TRUMP holdings, which they delivered to crypto exchange Binance on Wednesday, presumably with the intention to sell. Though the attendees would appear to be eager for an audience with Trump, their trading activities since the competition deadline appear to imply a low conviction in the long-term potential of the president's coin as an investment asset. Representatives for Trump did not respond immediately to a request for comment. That sentiment appears to be shared broadly among sophisticated crypto investors. As of Friday, only nine smart money traders—meaning those with a strong track record of profitability—are invested in the TRUMP coin, according to analysis by Nicolai Søndergaard, research analyst at blockchain analytics company Nansen. After the dinner was first announced, analysts expressed concerns about a potential slump in the price after the spaces at the dinner had been confirmed, caused by a sell-off among investors whose immediate incentive to hold the coin had evaporated. On May 12, the day of the competition deadline, the organizers tried to encourage the qualifying attendees to hold onto their coins, presumably in a bid to avoid a sell-off. Any attendees who arrived at the dinner with as many units of TRUMP as they held at the end of the competition, the organizers announced on X, would be rewarded with a 'very special and rare' NFT. They also teased a 'rewards points program,' the details of which have not yet been revealed. Though many of the qualifying attendees were apparently unmoved by the prospect, choosing to forgo the NFT in favor of offloading their coins, it has not had a material detrimental impact on the TRUMP price. At the time of writing, the TRUMP coin is trading for $12.86 per unit, down from $14.59 on May 12. The limited decline in price had been predicted in some quarters, attributed to the possibility that holding the coin might yield yet further perks or advantages in future—potentially including access to Trump. In establishing an explicit quid pro quo—a large investment in exchange for a dinner with the president—the competition effectively turned TRUMP into a so-called utility coin. That idea is underscored by the rewards program teased by the organizers. 'The market will expect further utility to come from holding that coin,' Nathan van der Heyden, head of business development at crypto company Aragon, told WIRED in April. 'Before, you were speculating on a TRUMP coin with no utility. Now you're speculating on future access to Trump. That has to be worth a bit more money.'
