Trump Doubles Down on Crypto with Back-to-Back Dinners—Regulators Raise Eyebrows
Former president amps up crypto courtship as industry scrambles for political allies. Two high-profile dinners this month signal a strategic push—just as watchdogs warn about ’cozy’ relationships.
Ethics questions swirl around guest lists and agendas. Meanwhile, Bitcoin barely flinches—because nothing says ’decentralized’ like schmoozing with ex-presidents.
Wall Street veterans sigh: ’Same playbook, new asset class.’
Hodlers of $TRUMP
Access to the black-tie optional dinner is determined by how many $TRUMP tokens a person’s wallet holds. The contest closes May 12, and a live leaderboard on the project’s site shows the current standings. Usernames can be submitted publicly, but most of the wallets are pseudonymous.
Together, the two events have sparked backlash from lawmakers who accuse Trump of selling access to wealthy crypto backers.
Last month, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) co-signed a letter warning meme coin gala offers “exclusive access to the presidency in exchange for significant investment in one of the President’s business ventures.”
Warren has also raised alarms over the Trump-linked stablecoin USD1, launched by World Liberty Financial, a firm co-founded by Trump’s son Eric and crypto investor Zach Witkoff.
The coin, backed by short-term U.S. Treasuries, has surged to become the world’s seventh-largest stablecoin following a $2 billion investment in Binance from Abu Dhabi’s MGX Group.
“Looks like corruption, smells like corruption,” Warren said last week, accusing the Trump family of using crypto to personally profit while legislation that could benefit them advances in the Senate.
She warned that a Republican-backed bill to regulate stablecoins—expected to receive a floor vote this week—could “greenlight the grift.”
The event has also reignited debate over transparency in political crypto fundraising, as neither Trump nor his campaign have disclosed the identities of top token holders.
Watchdog group Accountable.US called the $TRUMP leaderboard dinner “the most nakedly corrupt self-enrichment scheme in U.S. presidential history,” citing concerns that anonymous wallets could be controlled by foreign actors.
Accountable.US claims TRON founder Justin Sun could be the largest holder of $TRUMP, while roughly 80% of the token supply is held by Trump affiliates, according to its webpage.
The White House did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request for comment.
Despite terms stating that Trump’s attendance isn’t guaranteed and that the event could be canceled "for any reason,” interest in the token has soared, up more than 50% after the dinner was announced last month, CoinGecko data shows.
If the May 22 dinner falls through, contest winners will receive a Trump-branded NFT.
Edited by Sebastian Sinclair
