Latest news with #TrumpGalaDinner
CNBC
23-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
At Trump's $148 million meme coin dinner, 'the food sucked' and security was lax
The price of President Donald Trump's meme coin plunged 16% as of Friday morning, just hours after he hosted a black-tie gala at his Virginia golf club for its biggest buyers — an elite crowd that spent a combined $148 million on the token for the chance to be there. It was billed as "the most exclusive invitation in the world." Among the 220 attendees were crypto influencers, industry executives like Sandy Carter of Unstoppable Domains, and former NBA star Lamar Odom, who used the occasion to praise Trump as "the greatest president" and promote his own token, $ODOM. The top 25 wallets were promised a private reception and guided tour. Others, like 25-year-old Nicholas Pinto — whose dad drove him to the event in his Lamborghini — left underwhelmed and still hungry. "The food sucked," Pinto said. "Wasn't given any drinks other than water or Trump's wine. I don't drink, so I had water. My glass was only filled once." Trump made only a brief appearance. "He didn't talk to any of the 220 guests — maybe the top 25," Pinto said. All in, the president was there for 23 minutes, Pinto said. Trump delivered a brief address re-hashing old crypto talking points, then he left on a helicopter before taking any questions or pictures with his meme coin contest winners. Phones weren't locked in RFID pouches, and security was lax, according to Pinto. "Once Trump left, they didn't really worry about anything else," Pinto added. The opulence was on full display. "Richard Mille watches weren't even rare," Pinto said. "I saw at least 16 people wearing them. I never see that unless I'm at a high-end restaurant in Miami or Dubai." But the vibe was more muted than expected, he said: "Lots of people didn't even hold the coin anymore. They were checking their phones during dinner to see if the price moved." For lawmakers and regulators, the dinner set off alarm bells. The #1 token holder was Chinese-born crypto mogul Justin Sun who is currently facing Securities and Exchange Commission fraud charges that were recently paused, with the agency citing "the public interest." Sun holds over $22 million in the $TRUMP token and another $75 million in World Liberty Financial's native token. "As the top holder of $TRUMP and proud supporter of President Trump, it was an honor to attend the Trump Gala Dinner," Sun posted on Friday. "Thank you @POTUS for your unwavering support of our industry!" Outside the gates of Trump National Golf Club in Potomac Falls, Va., about a hundred protesters gathered, according to NBC News. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., joined them, backing a new End Crypto Corruption Act with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. Signs read "Crypto Corruption" and "Trump is a traitor." "The Trump family activity in the memecoin space makes my work in Congress more complicated," Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., told CNBC Friday. Hill, who's leading negotiations on a bipartisan stablecoin bill known as the GENIUS Act, called the gala "a distraction from the good work we need to do." Now, the GENIUS Act, a bill to regulate stablecoins, is at risk. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., recently added a controversial rider to the bill that would cap credit card late fees — what's seen as a poison pill that could alienate banking allies and stall final approval. On Thursday night as the meme coin contest dinner was underway, a bloc of Senate Democrats announced they'd be pushing for a new provision that would ban presidents and senior officials from profiting off crypto ventures while in office — a direct challenge to the Trump-linked stablecoin USD1 that launched this spring. in Washington, there's growing concern that political infighting over Trump's crypto ventures could derail the stablecoin bill altogether. That poses an even bigger risk. According to the Wall Street Journal, JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citi, and other major banks are in early talks to issue a unified digital dollar to compete with Tether, the foreign-controlled stablecoin that now commands over 60% of global market share. Those plans hinge on legal clarity. If the GENIUS Act stalls, the U.S. could lose its window to regain ground in the global race for digital payments. The White House has tried to draw a line between Trump the president and Trump the private businessman. "The president is attending it in his personal time. It is not a White House dinner," press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters when pressed on attendee transparency. The administration declined to release a guest list. But blockchain data — and a patchwork of guest photos — tell part of the story. A Bloomberg News analysis found that all but six of the top 25 wallets used foreign exchanges, ostensibly off-limits to U.S. users. More than half of the top 220 wallets were linked to similar offshore platforms. One Nasdaq-listed penny stock, Freight Technologies, disclosed in an SEC filing that it spent $2 million on Trump's token to push U.S.-Mexico trade policy. It didn't make the cut for the dinner — finishing 250th. Since its January debut, the $TRUMP coin has generated more than $324 million in trading fees. Roughly 80% of the $TRUMP token supply is controlled by the Trump Organization and affiliates, according to the project's website. WLFI, the Trump's parallel token, has sold $550 million in two token sales. Still, White House AI & crypto czar David Sacks remained bullish on "significant bipartisan support" for stablecoin legislation. "We already have over $200 billion in stablecoins — it's just unregulated," Sacks told CNBC's "Closing Bell Overtime" on Wednesday. "If we provide the legal clarity and legal framework for this, I think we could create trillions of dollars of demand for our Treasuries practically overnight, very quickly." "We have every expectation now that it's going to pass," added Sacks, though he didn't answer a question about concerns from Democrats that there aren't sufficient safeguards in place to keep the president and his family from profiting from legislation. While Sacks sold $200 million in crypto-related holdings before taking his White House job, according to a disclosure filing, Trump and his family have been leaning into building a crypto empire. The Trumps are financial backers of World Liberty Financial, which is behind the UDS1 stablecoin that is backed by Treasuries and dollar deposits. Abu Dhabi's MGX investment fund recently pledged $2 billion in USD1 to Binance, the world's largest digital assets exchange. It's the company's largest-ever investment made in crypto. 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Business Insider
23-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Crypto billionaire Justin Sun says he received a $100k Trump-branded watch at the president's meme coin dinner
Crypto billionaire Justin Sun said he received a $100,000 Trump-branded watch at President Donald Trump's meme coin dinner at at the Trump National Golf Club golf club outside of Washington DC on Thursday. The top 220 holders of the token were to invited to the event. Photos and video of the event show Sun posing with his fellow attendees. He signed a print-out of a leaderboard showing he was first among the top 220 Trump coin holders. Sun said he was gifted a Trump Tourbillion watch, which retails for $100,000, another of the president's private business interests that remain ongoing during his second term. The top 25 holders were treated to a more intimate reception with Trump. "I really appreciate, like, everything the Trump administration has done to our industry," Sun said in a video that he reposted on X. "As the president said right before, so like, basically, like, 100 days ago, like, they go after crypto people like everywhere. That's impossible for us to have such beautiful events in DC." As the top holder of $TRUMP and proud supporter of President Trump, it was an honor to attend the Trump Gala Dinner by @GetTrumpMemes. Thank you @POTUS for your unwavering support of our industry! #MakeCryptoGreatAgain 🇺🇸 — H.E. Justin Sun 🍌 (@justinsuntron) May 23, 2025 In a separate post, Sun shared a video showing him walking into the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, where top White House officials work. The White House did not respond to a question about whom Sun met with. In 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Sun with fraud, accusing him of manipulating the market for Tronix or TRX crypto. In February, after Trump took office, the SEC paused its investigation. Sun, who Forbes estimates is worth $8.5 billion, has other ties to the Trumpworld. Before buying the meme coin, he invested $75 million in World Liberty Financial, a crypto projected connected to the president and his sons. The White House previously said that it had nothing to do with the event. The dinner was held at Trump's private golf club outside of Washington, where he spoke from behind presidential podiums. Trump stands to make millions off of the coin. According to the $Trump coin website, the Trump Organization and affiliated entities control 80% of the meme coin. First Lady Melania Trump has her own coin, too. Sun has spent millions to participate in other headline-grabbing events. He shelled out $4.6 million to have lunch with Warren Buffett, $6.2 million to eat a duct-taped banana, and a staggering $28 million to fly on Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin (though Sun has yet to blast off).
