What are Trump's guests getting from $148m crypto dinner?
The guest list consists of the top 220 holders of the Official Trump memecoin trump-official (TRUMP-OFFICIAL-USD), who collectively spent an estimated $148m (£110.72m) acquiring the token in the hope of securing face time with Donald Trump.
The event has stirred controversy over claims of crypto-fuelled political influence, with critics calling it 'pay-to-play 2.0' and watchdogs demanding federal scrutiny.
Read more: Crypto live prices
But for those attending, the question remains: What are they gaining in return?
Trump first announced the exclusive dinner in April, promising an invitation to his private club for the top 220 $TRUMP token holders and a VIP experience for the top 25. The announcement sent the memecoin soaring, with prices jumping over 60% in a single day.
Many purchases were executed through crypto exchanges like Gate.io and Bybit — platforms that block US customers — suggesting that some buyers may be foreign nationals or US citizens using offshore accounts.
Despite the secrecy surrounding wallets and identities, all guests are set to receive a commemorative $TRUMP non-fungible token (NFT) minted on Solana and, for the top-tier holders, a private White House tour the following day — access typically reserved for diplomats and heads of state.
So what's really on offer for these blockchain-backed guests? Beyond the NFT and a photo op, attendees may be chasing high-level access, and according to Nansen analyst Nicolai Sondergaard, the event is primarily a networking opportunity.
"While there may be potential to gain some informational advantages, there are in my opinion, no other clear or substantial benefits beyond that," Sondergaard told Yahoo Finance UK. The dinner may also offer early intelligence on potential regulatory rollbacks and introductions to crypto policy insiders.
The holders of the top 25 wallets will attend a VIP reception and a private White House tour. It's an unprecedented offering that blurs the lines between spectacle, tech innovation, and political fundraising.
However, this access comes with growing ethical scrutiny. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Adam Schiff have formally called for a federal investigation, labelling the event a 'pay-for-access scheme' that may violate the US Constitution's Emoluments Clause.
Watchdog group Accountable.US has echoed these concerns, citing links between the token proceeds and CIC Digital, an affiliate of the Trump Organization.
Read more: How Trump and Melania meme coins are performing after 100 days
In a statement to the House of Representative's financial services committee, president of Accountable.US president Caroline Ciccone said: "The blurring or erasing of the line between Donald Trump's personal interests and the Executive Branch's agenda risks a true pay-to-play administration."
Trying to identify the true identities of the top token holders is no easy task. Blockchains are transparent, but the people behind crypto wallets often are not. Still, on-chain analytics firm Nansen has sifted through the data to offer some clues.
The leading wallet on the Trump memecoin leaderboard is labelled "SUN", sparking speculation that it belongs to Chinese-born crypto mogul Justin Sun, founder of the TRON (TRX-USD) blockchain.
'Crypto Twitter is speculating that this is Justin Sun, but we were not able to find any immediate connection to wallets we've already labeled as being owned by him," Sondergaard said. 'It holds a substantial amount of TRX and interacts with HTX-labelled wallets — formerly Huobi — but that's not enough to validate ownership.'
The second-largest holder, dubbed 'MeCo', appears to be associated with MemeCore, a Singapore-based layer-1 blockchain team. The wallet was funded by a Binance account 20 days ago and contains $TRUMP and a small amount of Solana (SOL-USD).
'It's not a singular person but rather an organization behind MemeCore. There's been some fun finger-pointing suggesting the wallet could be linked to Justin Sun, but that may just be in jest," Sondergaard added.
Read more: Trending tickers: Nvidia, Alibaba, Novavax, Ryanair and Diageo
The third wallet, 'CASE", was funded through Wintermute, a leading crypto market maker. Sondergaard believes this could have been an over-the-counter (OTC) transaction, saying: 'It might be someone at Wintermute, but I lean more toward the idea that it was a private sale.' Like others, the wallet only holds $TRUMP and SOL tokens.
Two more wallets, 'GAnt' and 'REKT,' round out the top five. Both are newly created, with GAnt funded via a Binance wallet and later transferring assets to Coinbase. REKT received funds from ChangeNOW, a non-KYC exchange, and also made a withdrawal from Binance.
Their anonymity underscores a broader concern, that significant funds have entered the US political landscape through untraceable, foreign-friendly channels.
While some token holders are about to dine with a former president, most investors haven't been so fortunate. Since the dinner announcement, over 20 million TRUMP tokens – worth roughly $280m – have flowed into wallets, with $109m exiting, according to Nansen. But the trading frenzy hasn't translated into widespread profits.
"The data tells a cautionary tale," Sondergaard said. 'Despite over 2,600 traders participating, 70% have realised losses. Total losses since the announcement exceed $21m — dwarfing profits during the same period.'
Even media attention has waned. Google (GOOG) Trends shows that searches for the TRUMP token have declined since its initial launch on the weekend before Trump's January 20 inauguration.
"Volume is still high and the token is actively traded,' Sondergaard said, 'But much of that may be driven by those racing to make the leaderboard before the dinner deadline."
Read more:
Why pension funds are buying bitcoin
What we know about Elon Musk's controversial blockchain vision for US
How AI could change the internet
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump's tariffs on Canada might be here to stay, U.S. Secretary of Commerce says
With less than two weeks to go for Canada to make a trade deal with the U.S., Prime Minister Mark Carney and the nation's premiers are set to tackle the issue during a three-day meeting in Ontario. As Mackenzie Gray reports, Trump's commerce secretary is making it clear the U.S. is firmly committed to imposing substantial levies if American demands are not met.
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
ICE Chief Doubles Down On Arresting Undocumented People With No Criminal History
President Donald Trump once promised to focus on the 'worst of the worst' as he sought to ramp up immigrant deportations, but a recent interview from his acting ICE chief underscored just how far the administration has departed from that vow. ICE is doubling down on arresting undocumented immigrants without criminal histories, Todd Lyons, the acting head of the federal body, told CBS's Camilo Montoya-Galvez in an exclusive interview. 'Under this administration, we have opened up the whole aperture of the immigration portfolio,' he said. 'If we encounter someone that isn't here in the country legally, we will take them into custody.' That approach marks a sharp break from the policies of the Biden administration, which directed agents to apprehend undocumented immigrants with criminal backgrounds, those who posed a national security threat and those who had entered the U.S more recently, CBS notes. It's also counter to claims that the Trump administration once made about focusing on those with serious criminal records, and prompted sharp blowback as ICE agents have targeted everyone from a high school student driving to sports practice to immigrants attending routine court hearings. Of the roughly 100,000 deportations ICE has documented between January 1 and June 24, about 70,000 involved a person with a criminal conviction, a CBS review of internal government data found. And just a small fraction of those who faced criminal convictions did so for violent offenses, Montoya-Galvez noted. (Living in the U.S. without documentation is a civil offense and not a criminal offense, Vanity Fair notes.) 'We can't look at it just based on violence,' Lyons said in the CBS interview. A July Axios review also determined that noncriminal ICE arrests increased in June, and that 'people without criminal charges or convictions made up an average of 47% of daily ICE arrests' in the early portion of that month. Lyons claimed in the interview that deporting immigrants who are 'the worst of the worst' was still a chief priority for the administration, and DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Lyons also outlined other ways that ICE will ramp up enforcement as it receives a staggering funding infusion from Republicans' recent tax bill, which will make it the highest funded federal law enforcement agency in the U.S. The agency will continue workplace raids, despite the concerns that have been raised about racial profiling and the trauma they've caused for immigrant communities. It will also penalize companies that hire undocumented immigrants, he said. 'We're focusing on these American companies that are actually exploiting these laborers,' Lyons said. Lyons noted, too, that agents will continue to wear masks during enforcement actions, due to concerns for their privacy and personal safety, a move that has garnered criticism for shielding officers from accountability and inspiring fear in immigrants who are approached by them. 'I'm not a proponent of the masks; however, if that's a tool that the men and women of ICE use to keep themselves and their families safe, then I'll allow it,' he said. Such moves come as the president has reportedly set a goal of a million deportations by the end of this year, one which Lyons said was 'possible' to achieve as ICE's sweeping and controversial tactics continue unabated. 'We hear a lot about the administration deporting the worst of the worst. And as far as we can tell from all available data up to this point, the data has not really supported that,' Austin Kocher, a professor at Syracuse University, told ABC News in July. Related... Volunteers Flock To Support Migrants Targeted By ICE At Immigration Courts Army Veteran And U.S. Citizen Arrested In California Immigration Raid Old Clip Of Stephen Miller Praising Torture Resurface Amid Aggressive Immigration Enforcement
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Shareholders in Metis Energy (SGX:L02) are in the red if they invested three years ago
Metis Energy Limited (SGX:L02) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 23% in the last month. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last three years have been less than pleasing. In fact, the share price is down 44% in the last three years, falling well short of the market return. With that in mind, it's worth seeing if the company's underlying fundamentals have been the driver of long term performance, or if there are some discrepancies. Trump has pledged to "unleash" American oil and gas and these 15 US stocks have developments that are poised to benefit. Because Metis Energy made a loss in the last twelve months, we think the market is probably more focussed on revenue and revenue growth, at least for now. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually desire strong revenue growth. That's because fast revenue growth can be easily extrapolated to forecast profits, often of considerable size. Over the last three years, Metis Energy's revenue dropped 33% per year. That means its revenue trend is very weak compared to other loss making companies. On the face of it we'd posit the share price fall of 13% compound, over three years is well justified by the fundamental deterioration. It would probably be worth asking whether the company can fund itself to profitability. The company will need to return to revenue growth as quickly as possible, if it wants to see some enthusiasm from investors. The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail). You can see how its balance sheet has strengthened (or weakened) over time in this free interactive graphic. A Different Perspective Investors in Metis Energy had a tough year, with a total loss of 23%, against a market gain of about 27%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 1.6% per year over half a decade. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. Even so, be aware that Metis Energy is showing 4 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 2 of those are a bit unpleasant... But note: Metis Energy may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast). Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on Singaporean exchanges. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. 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
