U.S. President Hosts Private Dinner Meeting with Crypto Whales, Bipartisan Congress Condemns "Erosion of Democracy"
Original Title: Winners of Trump's Memecoin Contest Begin to Gather for Dinner
Original Source: The New York Times
Original Translation: BitpushNews
Source: Bloomberg
On Thursday evening, protesters gathered outside a golf course in Virginia owned by former President Trump, where he planned to hold a private dinner with hundreds of his cryptocurrency buyers. The protesters carried signs such as "Feast of Fraud," "No Kings," and "No One Is Above the Law," rallying to protest Trump's upcoming dinner at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, where reportedly up to 220 of his top cryptocurrency holders had purchased the opportunity to meet with the former president.
Prior to the protest outside Trump's private club, a smaller gathering was held at Capitol Hill, where six Democratic lawmakers from both the House and Senate condemned the dinner. Some called it one of the most corrupt acts in American history and demanded Trump disclose the full list of his guests. "This is the Mount Everest of corruption," said Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, who then read an excerpt from the Constitution and cited examples of corrupt schemes by past U.S. presidents. "We must stop this behavior," he said.
Mr. Trump and his business partners announced last month what they called the world's "most exclusive invitation," organizing the event: a competition where buying $TRUMP (a cryptocurrency token launched on the eve of Trump's inauguration) would win participants a chance to meet the president. The top 220 buyers in the ranking would have dinner with the president at the golf club, while the top 25 would attend a more intimate cocktail reception and a White House tour the following day. Mr. Trump posted on his social media platform on Thursday evening, "About to head to Loudoun County, Virginia for the cryptocurrency dinner. America is leading in cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, and we will keep it that way!"
During the competition, a leaderboard on Trump's meme coin (named $TRUMP) website allowed cryptocurrency investors to see how much they needed to buy to improve their ranking and secure a spot. A meme coin is a type of cryptocurrency linked to an internet joke or mascot; it typically serves no purpose other than speculation. However, Trump's token has become a tool for investors (including some overseas investors) to funnel funds to his family. "Keep it up, MAGA baby," shouted one Trump supporter to protesters outside the club as Secret Service officers guarded the entrance.
White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt has dismissed any suggestion of impropriety regarding Trump's hosting of a banquet. "Anyone implying that the President is profiting from the presidency is absurd," Ms. Levitt said at the White House before Trump headed to his golf club. "This President achieved incredible success before serving the nation; he not only lost wealth but also nearly lost his life. He sacrificed a lot to be here."
However, this response did not impress the protesters. "It's like a black market scheme," said Ross Faber, a 66-year-old former federal employee from Arlington, Virginia. "He is using cryptocurrency to line his pockets." The proposal for this banquet has sparked fervor among cryptocurrency executives worldwide, with several attending with a clear intent to influence U.S. policy. The event is unlike any in recent U.S. history — it is not a fundraising event but a gathering arranged by the President's business associates aimed at directly enriching the First Family.
Many guests have a vested interest in how the U.S. regulates cryptocurrency. They see this banquet as an opportunity to directly hear Mr. Trump's views and understand how they can expand their businesses in the U.S., as regulations from the Biden era caused many of them to avoid investing in the country.
This week, cryptocurrency billionaire Justin Sun, who operates the Tron platform, announced that he would also attend the banquet — controlling the top-ranked account on the leaderboard, holding over $20 million worth of tokens.
Justin Sun was charged with fraud by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2023 and is also a major investor in another cryptocurrency firm linked to the Trump family, World Liberty Financial.
Shortly after Trump took office in January, the SEC suspended its fraud investigation into Justin Su. "Honored to support the President and grateful for the invitation," Mr. Su wrote on X this week. Some attendees are more low-key entrepreneurs, influencers, or super fans of Trump willing to spend money for a chance to meet the President. "If I can get a selfie, a handshake, or an autograph, that in itself is priceless to me," said 27-year-old consultant Vincent Delrio, ranked 165th on the $TRUMP leaderboard.
A business entity associated with the Trump family holds a large amount of $TRUMP cryptocurrency and charges a fee each time these tokens change hands. According to cryptocurrency analysis firm Chainalysis, the token has generated at least $320 million in fees to date, shared between the Trump family and their business partners. The competition was set up by a company named Fight, Fight, Fight, founded in January and named after Trump's response to an assassination attempt against him in July.
Initially operated by Bill Zanker, a long-time business associate of the Trump family, the "Fight, Fight, Fight" website promised a "White House Special VIP Tour" for the top 25 token holders. However, any mention of the White House has been removed from the website, now only promising a "VIP Tour" without specifying the location. Mr. Zanker did not respond to requests for comment. When asked about this change, a senior government official stated that the White House did not arrange any special visits for these cryptocurrency investors and was "completely unrelated" to the meme coin event. However, the official indicated that the dinner organizers may still offer guests a tour of the publicly accessible East Wing of the White House.
A spokesperson for the Trump Organization also tried to distance the company from the event, stating that they were not involved. However, the Trump family itself profits from it through a corporate entity named CIC Digital, and the dinner is held at a golf club they own. California Democratic Congressman Sam Liccardo called the dinner an affront to American principles of clean government. "There's no politician who could design a plan more suited to facilitating corrupt behavior by foreign individuals than to issue these digital assets that largely conceal the buyers' identities," said Mr. Liccardo, a member of the House Financial Services Committee who generally supports the cryptocurrency industry.
Welcome to join the official BlockBeats community:
Telegram Subscription Group: https://t.me/theblockbeats
Telegram Discussion Group: https://t.me/BlockBeats_App
Official Twitter Account: https://twitter.com/BlockBeatsAsia
Related Articles
