On the evening of May 22, 2025 local time, 220 cryptocurrency investors gathered at a golf club by the Potomac River to have a lavish dinner with Trump while enjoying the 'magnificent view of the Potomac River', with the entry ticket being the $TRUMP memecoin they hold.
This dinner is nothing short of a gilded game for the crypto industry, jointly announced on April 23 by CIC Digital LLC (a subsidiary of the Trump family business group) and Fight Fight Fight LLC, promoting the event as 'the most prestigious invitation in the world' and offering lucky attendees the chance to 'hear President Trump talk about the future of cryptocurrency' in person.
Before the start of the dinner, the official had announced that guests were prohibited from live streaming or bringing recording devices, but so far, this requirement seems not to have been specifically enforced. Many attendees have begun posting their own photos of the dinner situation on X and WeChat Moments. Based on publicly available on-site photos, BlockBeats has summarized and organized the details of this dinner and some interesting aspects.
Dinner inside, protests outside.
It is reported that, in addition to Justin Sun, well-known entrepreneurs in the crypto space such as Jihoz.ron, co-founder of Ronin Network, and Jack Lu, co-founder and CEO of Magic Eden, also attended and posted updates on social media about their participation in this dinner. Meanwhile, Trump himself maintained his classic entrance style, landing at Mar-a-Lago on Marine One.
Scene from the TRUMP dinner, image sourced from X.
After a brief introduction by the host, Trump stepped out from behind the curtain and gave a brief speech to the guests present. Interestingly, when introducing Trump, the host once again 'paid tribute to the people' using terms like 'crypto president' and 'the 47th president of the United States', which are quite 'anti-establishment'.
Photo of Trump at the scene, image sourced from X.
$50,000 'Trump White People Meal'.
The dinner menu, 'valued at $55,000', was also exposed on social media. According to on-site photos, the menu starts with an appetizer, serving the family heirloom tomato burrata cheese salad to the $TRUMP holders, paired with a refreshing basil garlic sauce, Italian balsamic sauce, and tender sprouts.
The main course has three options: filet mignon with a rich red wine sauce, served with mashed potatoes and asparagus; or pan-seared salmon paired with lemon cream sauce, accompanied by wild rice and asparagus; vegetarian guests can choose stuffed mushrooms filled with nutritious quinoa and spinach, served with roasted red pepper sauce. Finally, a silky rich chocolate mousse cake is served as dessert.
Photos of dishes at the dinner, image sourced from the internet.
Similar dishes are commonly found in American local 'white people's meals', available at both Trump Tower in New York and Trump International Hotel in Chicago. The editor roughly calculated the prices of the dishes for today's dinner based on the menus of these two restaurants.
Menu from Trump Tower and hotel, images sourced from the Trump Tower official website.
Taking the Trump Grill in New York as an example, the top salad with extra shrimp costs $32, a New York prime-grade sirloin steak with black truffle fries is $53, and a Brooklyn Black Forest cake with Lucado cherries, Tahitian vanilla, fresh cream, and chocolate sauce is $15, totaling $100. A generous 20% tip and about 9% sales tax brings the total to no more than $130.
Menu and dishes from Trump Tower restaurant, image sourced from the Trump Tower official website.
However, according to the requirements for attending the dinner, the 220th holder of the TRUMP token, the last guest, held 4,196.117 TRUMP tokens, valued at about $55,000 based on the closing price of TRUMP on May 12 when the list was locked. To enjoy a white people's meal from Trump, the crypto enthusiasts are also quite committed.
$100,000 'Trump Big Watch'.
Another highlight at the event was the 'Trump Big Watch' worn by Sun Yuchen. At this banquet, the top 25 investors enjoyed private VIP treatment with Trump, and the top four investors received limited edition 'Trump Tourbillon' watches. As the top holder of TRUMP, Sun Yuchen became one of the guests to receive this gift.
At the dinner, Sun Yuchen wore a Trump Tourbillon watch, image sourced from X.
According to official statements, each watch is valued at $100,000. Each Trump Tourbillon watch is numbered, valued at $100,000, and limited to 147 pieces globally. President Trump owns the number 1 watch. Whether it’s the 'hunger marketing' of the watch or the extravagant 'rich gold' color, it has a strong personal touch from Trump.
Three models of Trump Tourbillon watches, images sourced from the Trump Tourbillon official website.
Trump's love for gold has become a hallmark of his personal brand. He sees gold as a symbol of power, evident from the lavish gold decor in Trump Tower in New York, Trump International Hotel, and Mar-a-Lago in Florida. The Oval Office in the White House is adorned with gold badges, golden statues, gold paperweights, and coasters, all reflecting his taste and preferences. In Trump's view, white represents surrender and weakness, while gold is the ultimate symbol, as he regards 'those who have gold make the rules' as the golden rule of negotiation.
White House interior; Trump's golden paperweight; Trump's account, image sourced from X.
Public protests, Democrats cursing.
It is noteworthy that this crypto dinner is not the only crypto event hosted by Trump this month. On May 5, Trump hosted a dinner for cryptocurrency and AI innovators at Trump National Golf Club in Virginia, with an entry standard of $1.5 million per person, also inviting special guest David Sacks, making it one of the most expensive political fundraising events in recent years.
According to the New York Times, Trump's series of 'copper flow corruption' actions have been criticized by various sectors, including the Democratic Party. On May 23, protesters gathered outside Trump National Golf Club in Washington to protest the crypto dinner held for top holders of Trump's memecoin. At the entrance to the dinner, dozens of protesters chanted 'shame, shame, shame', holding signs that read 'Stop Crypto Corruption', 'Release Guest List', and 'No Kings'.
Protesters outside the dinner, image sourced from X.
Perhaps in consideration of reducing impact, the originally planned agenda for 25 VIPs to visit the White House was also removed from the $TRUMP website.
Among the protesters was Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley from Oregon, who shouted at the entrance of Trump Golf Club: 'This is the crypto corruption club,' and referred to the dinner as 'the Everest of corruption.'
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren stated that Trump's private dinner with his token holders may constitute corrupt behavior of 'using power for personal gain', and called for an ethical investigation. U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff publicly called for Trump's impeachment, stating, 'When the sitting president of the United States sells access to those who are actually paying him directly, it unquestionably reaches the level of impeachable offenses.'
Additionally, the U.S. Constitution prohibits federal officials from accepting gifts from foreign governments, and the identity of $TRUMP token holders is anonymous, making it difficult to rule out foreign influence gaining political access through token purchases. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren has joined nine other legislators in writing to the ethics office, requesting an investigation into whether Trump is effectively receiving bribes through token sales.
$TRUMP was launched on the Solana chain on January 17, 2025, with an initial issuance of 1 billion tokens, 20 million tokens (20%) sold through ICO, and the remaining 80 million held by the two aforementioned companies. In the days following the trading's commencement, the value of the issued 20% TRUMP tokens skyrocketed to $14 billion. On paper, Trump's net worth increased by hundreds of billions of dollars almost overnight.
Since then, the value of the coin has fallen by more than 80% from its peak. However, after Trump announced the dinner on April 23, it triggered a trading frenzy, causing the price of the memecoin to skyrocket. As market intermediaries, Fight Fight Fight and CIC Digital likely earned hundreds of thousands of dollars from transaction fees.
'Dinner crypto enthusiasts' and Democrats are worlds apart.
Currently, the most circulated video from the dinner comes from Sun Yuchen. As the 'top holder', he thanked Trump for everything done for the crypto industry at the podium, stating: 'Just 100 days ago, they were chasing down cryptocurrency people everywhere, we could never have such a grand event in Washington. Everyone in the coin circle gathering in the U.S. to do coin circle things is the best thing I can think of in my life.'
Sun Yuchen delivered a speech at the dinner, image sourced from X.
Sun Yuchen, as a major supporter of Trump, had previously invested $75 million in Trump's family project World Liberty Financial (WLFI), after which his pending civil fraud case was halted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on grounds of conflicting interests and 'public interest'.
The SEC's actions were questioned during the congressional hearing on May 21, with Maryland Democratic Congressman Glenn Ivey raising concerns about SEC Chairman Paul Atkins' connections to meme coins related to President Trump and cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun, stating, 'This smells fishy,' and hoping the SEC would investigate the matter.
As Trump's personal interests become increasingly intertwined with the crypto industry, the questions from Democrats regarding Trump's corruption in utilizing the crypto industry and using power for personal gain are rising, affecting the progress of crypto legislation.
On May 22, the stablecoin (GENIUS Act) passed the debate motion with 69 votes in favor and 31 votes against, entering the revision process. This bill may become the first federal-level regulatory framework for stablecoins in the U.S., widely regarded by the industry as potentially reshaping the entire stablecoin market.
However, the next day, the Democrats expressed their opposition to this bill. On May 23, Axios reported that Democratic Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Jeff Merkley would submit an amendment to the (GENIUS Act) to prevent the U.S. president from profiting from stablecoins.
Previously, the Democrats had already fiercely obstructed this bill. On May 9, the U.S. Senate voted down the bill, with Democrats demanding to add provisions explicitly prohibiting executive officials, including Trump and his family members, from holding or trading cryptocurrencies, and strengthening anti-corruption provisions.
The Democrats' questioning of Trump's interests originally stemmed from a report in the Wall Street Journal.
On March 13, 2025, the Wall Street Journal revealed that the Trump family is negotiating to acquire a substantial stake in Binance.US. Although strongly denied by CZ, it was confirmed by Bloomberg and hinted that both parties are about to launch a stablecoin. This stablecoin is the recently launched USD1 on Binance. That month, Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX announced it would invest $2 billion to purchase shares of Binance, but at that time, the specific channels for investing in Binance were unclear.
At the end of April, WLFI and CZ's official social media accounts released photos of WLFI's three co-founders meeting with CZ in Abu Dhabi. On May 1, Trump’s second son Eric Trump stated that World Liberty Financial's issuance of a dollar stablecoin (USD1) has been officially selected for completing MGX's $2 billion investment in Binance.
CZ meets WLFI founders, image sourced from X.
As the dinner lights by the Potomac River lit up, the crypto players and the traffic president completed a two-way rush, and the essence of this crypto carnival has long surpassed simple speculation in the coin circle. It represents another marketing success for Sun Yuchen, as well as the high integration of political power and virtual assets, with its 'indoor grand banquet, outdoor parade demonstration' absurd contrast reflecting the increasingly opposing attitudes of the two parties towards crypto.
Whether genuinely wanting to assist the industry or more interested in creating a new cash cow for his family, this 'crypto president' is increasingly at the center of controversy. The grand crypto dinner may just be a display of ambition, and what storms might follow in the political struggle remains unknown.