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200 Crypto Whales Drop $148M on Trump Dinner—And the Market’s Buzzing

200 Crypto Whales Drop $148M on Trump Dinner—And the Market’s Buzzing

Published:
2025-05-24 06:05:00
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When 200 high-net-worth investors collectively funnel $148 million into a single political soirée, eyebrows shoot up. This wasn’t just any dinner—it was a Trump fundraiser, and the crypto elite showed up in force.

The fallout? A market split sharper than a Bitcoin fork. Bulls see it as institutional validation; bears smell desperation. Either way, the ’dinner trade’ is now a thing—because nothing says ’decentralized future’ like rubbing shoulders with a centralizing force.

Bonus cynicism: Nothing moves money faster than politicians promising not to regulate it—until they do.

Illustration of a dish with 8 million written on it, with shadows of the president and his guests.

En bref

Trump in Crypto: They Want to Sideline Him, He Joins the Table

In Washington, a bill aims to. A political maneuver? Perhaps. Proof of? Certainly. Because the president, far from backing down, insists. On May 22, he hosted. Access? Reserved for holders of the $TRUMP memecoin. The 220 largest buyers were invited.

The event was sold out., invested. Altogether, $148 million was injected into the memecoin for this single access. All within a luxurious setting: lemon halibut, filet mignon, Valrhona chocolate. Donald Trump, in a blue suit and red tie, greeted the crowd and then spoke about his 2024 victory.

On X, the Biconomy team exults:

We were among the chosen! Memecoins, millions, and Web3 around the same table.

In another video, TRUMP declares: “There is a lot of common sense in crypto.” A surreal scene where speculation and political power blend.

Story of a Very Particular Banquet

The conditions? Strict. A background check was required for each guest.The most generous?, Chinese crypto mogul, invested. Current value: $18 million.

Among other figures:, German influencer. He writes:

I saw some very wealthy crypto billionaires. But the majority of the crowd consisted of young professionals from the crypto world, mainly from Europe. There was also a good number of Chinese, a few Americans, and a nice diversity of European countries. People mostly working for exchanges, funds, market makers, or as independent traders. An excellent networking moment.

, former NBA basketball player, was also there. He was booed upon arrival. As a souvenir, each guest left with, proof of their top holder status.

But behind the scenes, criticism is mounting. Senator Jeff Merkley denounced it as “the Everest of corruption“. Chris Murphy calls it “the most openly corrupt thing a president has done“. Even Cynthia Lummis, a pro-crypto Republican, admits the event “gives her pause to think“. The central accusation?

TRUMPUSDT chart by TradingView

A Profitable Crypto Operation for Trump and His Circle

The implications go beyond the symbol. The dinner is part of Trump’s overall strategy. He actively supports deregulation of the crypto sector. And reapsin the process.

  • $148 million was raised through the sale of $TRUMP tokens related to the event;
  • 220 people obtained entry tickets by becoming “top holders”;
  • $18 million is the value of Justin Sun’s $TRUMP portfolio, rewarded with a “Trump Golden Tourbillon” watch;
  • $1 million is the amount some invested to secure a seat at the table, according to the House Judiciary Committee.

Outside the golf club, protesters chanted their dissent. Inside, cutlery clinked, smiles beamed, and selfies abounded. Power is changing its face. Now it has a QR code.

What Trump touches in crypto seems to turn into a windfall. The $TRUMP memecoin is said to have already generated more than one hundred million dollars. The bitcoin mining startup he supports aims for a Nasdaq listing. Should we believe the former president has the Midas touch? One thing is certain: he knows the levers to convert political audience into digital capital.

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