Trump holds a private dinner with major cryptocurrency buyers

WashingtonUS President Donald Trump held an exclusive dinner with top buyers of his cryptocurrency, $TRUMP, on Thursday night at his private club overlooking the Potomac River outside Washington. Access was reserved for the largest shareholders of his memcoin, and according to Reuters, an estimated 220 of the top $TRUMP buyers invested approximately $148 million combined over three weeks. From the moment Trump announced the event, alarms were raised about a potential conflict of interest and the use of the presidency for personal gain.

Last month, Trump announced that the 220 cryptocurrency wallets with the largest amount of $TRUMP between April 23 and May 12 would win entry to a private dinner at Trump National Golf Club. The top 25 holders would also be invited to a "reception" beforehand. VIP "private" with the president. According to crypto intelligence firm Inca Digital, these 25 holders have invested more than $111 million in $TRUMP.

The announcement of the dinner caused the cryptocurrency to skyrocket more than 50% on the day. The president launched the $TRUMP cryptocurrency, the main issuing entities – such as CIC Digital LLC and Fight Fight Fight LLC – are affiliated with Trump and control 80% of the stock. Before the ticket drawing, a Chainalysis analysis published by CNBC estimated that these entities had obtained $320 million. for a dinner with the president of the United States have set off alarm bells for several reasons: first, because anyone in the world has had the opportunity to buy access to the president; because Trump has used his influence to fatten investments in his cryptocurrency and, consequently, of the people who have dinner with Trump tonight. blockchain Reports from Reuters suggest that more than half of the 220 attendees at the gala event likely live outside the United States.

One of the guests was Chinese crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun, who posted several videos of himself at Trump's private club tonight. Sun took first place in the dinner competition with a purse of $18.5 million, and is also the publicly known top investor and advisor to World Liberty Financial, the crypto platform linked to the Trump family and already worth millions of dollars.

Hours before the dinner, during the daily White House press briefing, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt responded to criticism of Trump's use of his office to enrich himself with cryptocurrency: "All of the president's assets are in a blind trust, managed by his children. He was a very successful businessman before deciding to publicly serve the country."

Leavitt insisted that the dinner was an activity the president conducted during "his free time." "It is not an official White House dinner. It does not take place here," she stressed. When Trump initially made the announcement about the dinner, it was a private visit to the White House, a type of access normally reserved for heads of state. The announcement's website later removed the reference to the building, although it still promised a "visit." VIP "special" unspecified.

The dinner with cryptocurrency investors comes after the president accepted a plane gifted by Qatar valued at $400 millionThe delivery of the aircraft coincides with the tour that Trump made last week for Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, three petrostates where his family and businesses have interests. In fact, the cryptocurrency company World Liberty Financial—launched with Trump's support—was chosen by Abu Dhabi to make a two billion dollar investment through Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange platform. One of the co-founders of World Liberty Financial is Zach Witkoff, son of Steve Witkoff, a good friend of Trump. Steve Witkoff has been appointedspecial envoy for the Middle EastBeyond deciding the future of Gaza, it has recently also become the fixer who is traveling to Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin.