U.S. President Donald Trump held a closed-door event on Thursday evening for 220 crypto investors who bought his memecoin, despite bipartisan concerns from lawmakers that he is selling access to amass personal wealth, NBC News reports, writes **UNN**.
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Crypto enthusiasts, including former NBA star Lamar Odom, attended a dinner at the Trump National Golf Club in Northern Virginia, near Washington. About 100 protesters lined the road to the entrance, trying to shame those in attendance with shouts and signs like "Trump is a traitor," "Crypto corruption," and "America is not for sale."
Odom, a former Los Angeles Lakers player, walked past protesters with an umbrella, according to a post on his X account in which he promoted his own memecoin. Others arrived in luxury SUVs with tinted windows, and many wore tuxedos to the event, which was called "black tie optional."
To get a spot, the mostly anonymous participants had to be among the 220 largest holders of the $TRUMP coin, with the average participant spending $1.8 million, according to blockchain analytics firm Nansen.
To get a spot, mostly anonymous participants had to be among the 220 best holders of the $TRUMP coin, with the average participant spending $1.8 million, according to blockchain analytics firm Nansen.
Two Trump-affiliated companies own 80% of the $TRUMP coin project. While their ability to sell is limited in the short term, the project's creators receive a commission on every transaction. According to research firm Chainalysis, these commissions have reached over $324 million since January. The exact amount that Trump will personally receive is unknown.
"Every time a transaction happens, he gets a transaction fee? It's just unconscionable what he's doing," said Ken Papay, a former U.S. Treasury official who was among the protesters outside the event.
"He's using the presidency to make himself and his family wealthier. It's just wrong for that to be happening in our country," said Papay, 73.
Trump arrived at the dinner by helicopter and left the event the same way, without speaking to reporters - and, according to one of them, barely speaking to those in attendance. A 32-year-old man from Austin, Texas, who declined to give his name, said Trump spoke for about 15 minutes.
The man said Trump did not announce a new cryptocurrency policy, but instead spoke in support of a potential bitcoin reserve and called himself a supporter of cryptocurrency.
According to the person, most people at the event did not have the opportunity to speak with Trump or take a picture with him, and he left immediately after finishing his speech.
"He flew in and flew out by helicopter. We didn't get to shake his hand or anything like that, but it was a really interesting group of crypto people all in one room," the person said. "That's about what I expected. I got the chance to be pretty close to the president when he gave his speech."
The dinner was advertised on the website as "intimate" and "the most exclusive invitation in the world."
The menu for the night included "Trump's organic field green salad", filet mignon, roasted halibut and lava cake. A photo posted by one attendee under the pseudonym @cryptoo\_bear shows participants receiving commemorative hats and a card.
In another post @cryptoo\_bear, written in Japanese, the user expressed disappointment with Trump's participation. "After a speech that lasted just under 30 minutes, President Trump danced his way out of the room," the user wrote. "The initial explanation was that we would walk around the tables and take souvenir photos at each table, but for some reason that didn't happen. It's a bit disappointing."
Trump marked the event on Truth Social. "The U.S. is dominating cryptocurrencies, bitcoin, etc., and we're going to keep doing it!" he wrote.
After returning to the White House on Thursday evening, Trump told reporters that the event was "good, very good."
In Congress, it has raised concerns in both parties.
Senator Cynthia Lummis, a Republican from Wyoming, said this month that the exclusive dinner "makes me wonder," and Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, said the dinner concept was "abstract, hard to understand."
Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, condemned the project at a press conference earlier Thursday. "This is the most corrupt White House in the history of the country," he said along with other lawmakers. "Just because corruption is happening publicly, where everyone can see it, doesn't mean it's not rampant predatory corruption."
White House press secretary Anna Kelly said this week that Trump did not act to enrich himself. "President Trump acts only in the interests of the American public - that is why they overwhelmingly re-elected him to this position, despite years of lies and false accusations against him and his business by the fake media," she said.
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The secrecy surrounding the guest list has caused a stir to confirm who paid money to attend the dinner. A leaderboard of those with the most $TRUMP coins was published on the event's website, but with usernames instead of real names.
Using publicly available information from the coin's accounting system on the blockchain, Bloomberg News reported strong interest in the coin among non-Americans. According to Bloomberg, 19 of the 25 largest holders bought on foreign exchanges that claim to exclude U.S. clients, and 56% of the 220 largest holders bought on those exchanges.
The largest owner identified himself on X this week as Justin Sun, a Chinese crypto entrepreneur who was sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2023, accusing him of fraud. The case is still pending, although the SEC is exploring a settlement or waiver of the case after Trump's second inauguration.
Also at the dinner was Sandy Carter, chief operating officer of blockchain-based Unstoppable Domains.
As people began to arrive at the event, the price of $TRUMP suddenly fell by about 6%, indicating a significant volume of sales, before stabilizing again.