ISTANBUL
US President Donald Trump is set to host an exclusive dinner Thursday night at his Trump National Golf Club in Washington, DC, for 220 cryptocurrency investors, according to American media.
NBC News reported on Wednesday that each of them secured their invitation by purchasing Trump’s official meme coin, $TRUMP, with entry costs averaging nearly $1.8 million per guest.
The event, billed as a "black-tie optional" gathering, has raised legal and ethical questions as it blurs the line between politics, personal profit, and international influence, according to experts.
According to blockchain analytics firm Nansen, attendees spent a total of $394 million in $TRUMP tokens to win their seat, with top spenders shelling out between $10 million to $37.7 million each. The average winner paid $1,788,994.42, though some spent under $100,000.
While the contest’s official site insists Trump is appearing "as a guest and not soliciting any funds," 80% of the $TRUMP coin project is owned by two Trump-linked entities, CIC Digital and Fight Fight Fight LLC.
Every coin transaction includes fees that have already generated nearly $900,000 in revenue in the first two days alone, according to Chainalysis.
'Pretty wild even by standards of 1st Trump administration'
Ethics experts warn the event underscores Trump's unconventional entanglements between political power and private enterprise.
"The president is not subject to the broad prohibition on conflicts of interest that affects almost everyone else who works for the federal government ... In general this is pretty wild even by the standards of the first Trump administration," Dan Weiner of the Brennan Center for Justice told NBC News.
Independent crypto researcher Molly White found that 158 of the 220 winning wallets (72%) likely belong to foreign users — many operating through exchanges that bar US citizens.
"It’s an incredible contrast. We have very strict laws that prohibit foreign nationals from making campaign donations... yet you have this happening," Weiner said.
The top spender, crypto mogul Justin Sun, a Chinese-born entrepreneur and now citizen of St. Kitts and Nevis, has confirmed his attendance. Sun faces an ongoing but paused US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit, adding further controversy.
Despite federal law capping individual donations to political candidates at $3,500, the crypto contest route appears to sidestep those limits — legally or otherwise. Still, the Trump team denies wrongdoing.
"The President is working to secure GOOD deals for the American people, not for himself ... despite years of lies and false accusations against him and his businesses from the fake news media," White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement.