The combination of cryptocurrency and political stars has once again sparked a frenzy and ethical controversies in the market. U.S. President Donald Trump recently announced that he would host a highly topical private dinner for holders of his namesake meme coin $TRUMP.
The announcement not only caused the price of $TRUMP tokens to surge over 70%, but also ignited discussions about the political ethics of 'paying to get close to power.' Additionally, the market began to buzz with speculation that Justin Sun, the founder of Tron, might be the largest holder of this token and could potentially become a guest at the dinner.
According to information released by the $TRUMP Coin team and the related event page, the exclusive dinner titled 'Dinner with Trump' is scheduled to take place on May 22, 2025, at the Trump National Golf Club in Washington, D.C. The organizer, Fight Fight Fight LLC, emphasizes that Trump himself will attend the dinner as a guest and discuss the future of cryptocurrency with participants, and there will be no fundraising activities that day.
However, the 'super exclusive invitation' to dine with the president is limited to the top 220 users ranked by their holdings of $TRUMP tokens. Furthermore, the top 25 'elite' holders will enjoy VIP treatment and participate in special private events. Although the initial event page mentioned a 'White House special VIP tour,' the related wording has since been removed, and specific VIP itinerary details are yet to be announced.
To qualify for participation, users must first register on the official website (Get Trump Memes.com/dinner) and must hold at least one $TRUMP token in their wallet; otherwise, the registration will be rejected by the system. After successful registration, users will enter the selection phase, and the final ranking will determine who can obtain this 'most exclusive global invitation' ticket.
In response, the market speculated that the threshold for entering the top 220 based on rankings shown on the blockchain explorer could be as high as several hundred thousand dollars. However, the official $TRUMP X account later clarified, stating that this method of calculation is incorrect, as the rankings on the explorer include a large number of locked tokens, exchange addresses, market maker addresses, and addresses that may not intend to register for the event.
The official emphasized: 'You don't need to own $300,000 to participate, nor do you need to compete with a large number of whales!' The ranking for this event is based on 'time-weighted holdings,' meaning that both the duration of token holdings and the quantity will affect the ranking, and 'the earlier you register, the better.'
According to real-time data from the official event leaderboard, the user ranked first holds over 1.17 million $TRUMP tokens (worth about $14.04 million), while the user ranked 220th holds only about 400 $TRUMP tokens (worth about $4,800). This seems to indicate that the participation threshold is indeed much lower than initially rumored, theoretically allowing 'everyone a chance.'
It is important to note that since the calculation standard is based on 'average holdings' and the rankings are dynamically changing, participants may need to maintain a large amount of tokens continuously before the snapshot date (set for May 12) to ensure final eligibility. Therefore, the actual cost of participation is likely to rise as competition intensifies, and the exact threshold still needs to await the snapshot results.
As the market buzzes about dinner qualifications, a cold wallet address associated with Justin Sun, marked as related to him, was manually added to the official leaderboard for the $TRUMP dinner event and currently ranks first. This wallet has been transferring $TRUMP tokens over the past three months and holds a portfolio containing hundreds of different crypto assets. Although it has only increased its $TRUMP holdings once since the dinner announcement, its large holdings easily put it at the top. Since the registration leaderboard does not jeopardize the safety of the tokens in the cold wallet, this could indeed be standard practice for the exchange.
However, considering Justin Sun's past interactions with Trump, such as his $30 million investment in WLFI shortly after the election, and the recent settlement between the SEC and Justin Sun regarding a civil fraud case, the market quickly associated this HTX wallet with Justin Sun himself, speculating that he might use it to secure a seat at the dinner.
After the rumors spread, Justin Sun himself posted a suggestive tweet on social media: 'All in USA.' This tweet has been interpreted by many as a hint that he might plan to attend the dinner. Regardless of the truth of the rumors, with Justin Sun's financial capacity, securing a seat at the dinner is clearly an easy task.
However, it is worth mentioning that linking the opportunity to dine with the sitting president directly to the holdings of his namesake meme coin is unprecedented and has quickly ignited outrage in the political sphere. Critics, including senators, have pointed out that this is 'the most blatant corruption the president has ever engaged in,' akin to 'openly inviting investors to bid for access to the president.'
This behavior of utilizing public office and influence for commercial projects related to personal branding (even highly speculative meme coins) has raised serious concerns about the blurred lines between public power and personal commercial interests, as well as potential conflicts of interest. Public opinion is also filled with irony and ridicule, with some netizens suggesting that the Taiwan government directly purchase $TRUMP coins to gain an opportunity to meet Trump, believing it may be more effective than traditional diplomatic channels.
Additionally, adding another layer of ambiguity is a note in the event terms: the organizers reserve the right to change the date and location of the dinner, even mentioning that Trump himself 'may not be able to attend.' If the dinner is canceled or Trump is absent, eligible $TRUMP holders will receive a 'limited edition TRUMP NFT' as compensation.
This clause has sparked new speculation: is the true purpose of this dinner to hype or pave the way for Trump to issue a new series of NFTs? After all, Trump has previously ventured into the NFT market, issuing the 'Trump Digital Trading Cards' series 1, series 2, and NFTs based on Bitcoin Ordinals. If this dinner indeed leads to a new NFT issuance, its market performance will be closely watched. Success may reignite the craze for celebrity NFTs, while failure may exacerbate market skepticism about the sustainability of such projects.
Overall, Trump's $TRUMP Coin dinner event is undoubtedly one of the most eye-catching events in the cryptocurrency market recently. It unprecedentedly links the opportunity to engage with a sitting head of state directly to the quantity of a specific meme coin held, blurring the boundaries between political influence, personal branding, commercial interests, and cryptocurrency speculation.
This event not only showcases the immense power of celebrity influence in the crypto world but also exposes the risks of easy manipulation and exploitation, raising serious political ethical questions. Whether the $TRUMP team is trying to position its token as having 'utility value,' or the market speculates on Justin Sun's potential involvement, or anticipates a potential NFT issuance, all reflect the increasingly politicized and commercialized complex trends of cryptocurrency.
This 'crypto dinner,' which combines fan economy, political PR, market hype, and potential regulatory risks, will ultimately conclude how it interacts with the relationship between cryptocurrency and real-world power. It remains to be seen what impact it will have. However, it certainly reminds us that in this emerging field, opportunities and risks, innovation and chaos are often only a hair's breadth apart.
