An activist calls out an attendee of an exclusive dinner at Trump National Golf Course as he and fellow activist from Our Revolution protest influence-peddling & corruption, on May 22, 2025 in Sterling, Va. Inside, the top 220 holders of the President's cryptocurrency have paid over US$394mil for spots at an exclusive dinner with Trump. — Kevin Wolf/AP Content Services for Our Revolution
Top holders of Donald Trump’s memecoin and other guests were greeted by protesters as they arrived for a dinner with the president at his golf club outside of Washington on May 22, a day which saw Bitcoin extend its record high amid optimism about US government support for the crypto industry.
Chinese crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun, who is working to resolve a regulatory case in the US, posted a photo on X showing him on his way to the dinner. Trump announced his own departure to the event on Truth Social, saying "The U.S.A. is DOMINATING in Crypto, Bitcoin, etc., and we are going to keep it that way!”
Guests arriving for the event, which included retired NBA player Lamar Odom, were greeted outside the Trump National Golf Club near Washington by about 100 protesters within earshot of the security checkpoint where they emerged from their vehicles. Protesters screamed "Shame!” and "I hope you choke on your dinner!” and held signs with messages like "America is not for sale” and "Memecoin grifters go to jail.”
Inside the event, large placards saying "Fight Fight Fight” adorned every table, an homage to the name of the company that launched the $Trump memecoin, according to photos taken inside that were seen by Bloomberg. Gift bags containing black hats and plaques, both reading "Fight Fight Fight,” were on the chairs. On the menu was a field-green salad, filet mignon and pan-seared halibut along with garlic mashed potatoes and a vegetable medley.
The gathering has faced criticism from Democrats including Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Adam Schiff of California, who cited conflicts of interest, and the potential of selling access to the president, particularly to people from foreign countries.
"In effect he is putting a ‘For Sale’ sign on the White House lawn,” Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said in an interview on May 9. "The dinner crystallized and heightened concerns that we had even before the dinner was announced.” On Thursday, Blumenthal participated in a press call to discuss what was described as "unprecedented presidential crypto corruption.”
To qualify for the dinner, holders of Trump memecoin had to register on an online leaderboard, which tracked their average holdings over three weeks. The top 220 holders got invited, while the top 25 were also invited to a special before-dinner reception with the president. More than half of the top holders used foreign exchanges that say they ban US users, suggesting that many of the purchasers are based outside the US, Bloomberg analysis found. One guest is Morten Christensen, who lives in Mexico and runs AirdropAlert.com, which tracks token giveaways. He managed to snag a seat at the dinner at a total cost of only about US$1,200 (RM5,106).
In a speech at the dinner, Trump repeated his pledge to make the US the world’s crypto capital, according to Christensen.
"We’ve got some of the smartest minds anywhere in the world right here in this room and you believe in the whole crypto thing, and a lot of people are starting to believe in it,” Trump said in the speech, parts of which were posted on X by attendees.
After Trump left, Sun was introduced as a speaker by Bill Zanker, who helped organise the dinner. In a short address, Sun said the industry should get behind Trump as crypto operators have been struggling with regulatory challenges for a decade, according to Christensen. Sun also posed for pictures with attendees.
Over the last few years, Trump turned from being a crypto sceptic to the industry’s biggest champion. After launching four collections of nonfungible tokens, Trump started his second presidential term by appointing crypto-friendly agency heads and establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve.
Trump’s family has also expanded its network of crypto businesses. Last year, Trump and his sons launched World Liberty Financial, which has raised more than US$500mil (RM2.12bil). Two of his sons also got involved in a Bitcoin mining venture. Trump-related entities also issued the Trump memecoin days before inauguration.
The memecoin’s market cap reached nearly US$15bil (RM63.83bil) soon after its January launch, but then dropped sharply, to about US$2.9bil (RM12.34bil) currently, according to data tracker CoinMarketCap.com. The announcement of the dinner for memecoin holders modestly boosted the coin’s price. Fight Fight Fight LLC and CIC Digital LLC, an affiliate of The Trump Organization, share 80% of the total memecoin supply.
Bitcoin was trading at US$111,593 (RM474,861) – just below its all-time high – at 8.47am in Singapore on Friday. – Bloomberg
Unlock 30% Savings on Ad-Free Access Now!
