When a meme coin worth $350 million met political power at a golf club, the two major parties in the U.S. engaged in the most naked power-money game of the century in the battlefield of cryptocurrency regulation.
The silent Speaker and the "memory disappearance technique" of the crypto dinner
On May 25, a scene of magical realism unfolded in the CNN studio: In response to host Jake Tapper's relentless questioning about Trump's cryptocurrency dinner, House Speaker Mike Johnson erected a firewall with the words "I have no idea." This Republican leader, who wields the highest power in the legislative body, displayed a shocking level of "political amnesia" on camera—unaware of the identities of the 220 cryptocurrency tycoons attending the dinner, nor concerned about the potential infiltration of foreign funds.
This selective amnesia forms a stark contrast on Capitol Hill. Just three days prior, 35 Democratic members jointly requested the Justice Department to initiate an investigation, with Senator Elizabeth Warren directly denouncing the event as a "corrupt carnival." When Johnson claimed that "Trump is the most transparent president in history," the electronic screen behind him was scrolling through photos of Tron CEO Sun Yuchen at the dinner. This Chinese crypto giant not only holds over $10 million worth of TRUMP tokens but is also an important financier of Trump family's crypto platform.
The ultimate showdown between crypto dollars and constitutional clauses
This feast held at the Trump National Golf Club in Virginia is essentially the Web 3.0 version of the political donation system. By converting traditional political fundraising into exclusive events for cryptocurrency token holders, Trump's team cleverly evaded the Federal Election Commission's regulatory framework on political donations. The holding of TRUMP meme coins became an admission ticket, allowing foreign capital to achieve political infiltration through the cryptocurrency market.
The Constitution's "foreign emoluments clause" is facing a severe challenge here. A Bloomberg investigation shows that among the top 220 TRUMP token holders, about 63% are from outside the United States. When BitMart CEO Xia Jian shared photos of the dinner on social media, the U.S. law prohibiting "the president from accepting foreign gifts" was gradually dissolving in the anonymity of cryptocurrency. More notably, Australian crypto tycoon Kain Warwick entered the top 25 holders through public market operations, creating a dangerous precedent for political lobbying with this "pay-to-enter" model.
The institutional dilemma behind the Democratic Party's "crypto siege"
Faced with the collective silence of the Republicans, the Democrats launched a three-pronged attack: Legally, 14 House members jointly requested the Attorney General to initiate a bribery investigation; legislatively, Maxine Waters led the charge to propose (preventing Trump from participating in cryptocurrency legislation), attempting to sever the ties between the presidential family and the cryptocurrency market; in public opinion, Elizabeth Warren characterized the dinner as "a political looting of the digital age."
This game exposes the fatal flaws of the U.S. regulatory system. The current (Federal Election Campaign Act) was established in the pre-internet era and lacks foresight regarding the political application of cryptocurrency. When Trump's team issued USD1 stablecoin through World Liberty Financial, the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) and FEC (Federal Election Commission) were still passing the buck on jurisdictional issues. Although the new legislation proposed by the Democrats aims at presidential power, its fundamental misreading of "decentralized finance" may lead to a permanent misalignment of regulatory frameworks and cryptocurrency technology.
Crypto populism: Trump's "digital campaign arsenal"
The myth of the skyrocketing TRUMP coin reveals a new model of political mobilization. Since its issuance in 2023, this token has increased by over 600%, with a value increase of $350 million far exceeding traditional political donation scales. By converting supporters into token holders, Trump has built a political community with financial incentives—"iron fans" with larger holdings enjoy higher decision-making participation in campaign activities.
This "tokenized populism" is reshaping the electoral ecology. Dinner attendees not only gained the opportunity for close contact with Trump but also influenced campaign strategy formulation through on-chain governance mechanisms. When foreign token holders like Sun Yuchen occupy governance nodes, the "digital sovereignty" of American elections faces substantial threats. Republican strategic analysts privately admit that if this model can evade legal risks, it will become a core weapon in the 2024 election.
The transparency paradox: the political black box in the blockchain era
Ironically, the so-called "immutable" blockchain technology has instead created a deeper black box in the political realm. Although all TRUMP token transaction records are on-chain, the source of funds has become exceedingly difficult to trace due to multiple layers of cover such as mixers, offshore exchanges, and shell companies. Investigators from the Justice Department revealed that at least $12 million in funds had flowed through a Panamanian cryptocurrency service provider, ultimately injected into Trump-related projects.
Mike Johnson's defense that "Trump has nothing to hide" faces brutal deconstruction on a technical level. A report from blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis shows that 38 of the top 50 TRUMP token wallet addresses hid the information of the ultimate beneficiaries through privacy protocols. This "transparent anonymity" renders traditional political transparency standards completely ineffective, as Senator Warren stated: "We are witnessing the most sophisticated facade of power-money transactions in human history."
The institutional collapse of the crypto power game
As Trump raises a glass on the golf course, the champagne in his hand reflects the deep crisis of the American political system. This parallel dialogue between a $1.6 trillion federal budget and $350 million in cryptocurrency profits exposes the irreconcilable contradictions between representative democracy and decentralized finance. Whether the Democrats can legislate to build a firewall or not, the tide of cryptocurrency reconstructing the political power landscape is already irreversible—the only difference is whether this change will come through institutional norms or systemic collapse.