Justin Sun, founder of blockchain platform Tron, poses for a photograph in Hong Kong, May 8, 2020.
Calvin Sit | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Chinese-born crypto mogul Justin Sun says he’s the top holder of the $TRUMP meme token and will be having dinner with President Donald Trump.
The dinner competition — a sweepstakes offering gala access to the sitting U.S. president — was open to anyone in the world willing to spend millions of dollars on a digital coin tied to Trump.
On Thursday, the top 220 $TRUMP holders are invited to a dinner with the president at his Virginia golf club outside of Washington, D.C.
Late Monday night, Sun posted on X that he had secured the top spot in the $TRUMP token leaderboard, which earned him an invite to a dinner with the president, as well as a VIP reception for the top 25 holders.
“Honored to support @POTUS and grateful for the invitation from @GetTrumpMemes to attend President Trump’s Gala Dinner as his TOP fan!” he wrote. “As the top holder of $TRUMP, I’m excited to connect with everyone, talk crypto, and discuss the future of our industry.”
Sun now holds $18.6 million worth of the Trump-themed meme token, on top of the $75 million he previously poured into World Liberty Financial — a separate crypto venture that routes 75% of the platform’s revenue directly to Trump-owned entities.
Altogether, Sun’s stake in the Trump family’s crypto empire now tops $93 million.
Born in China, Sun is the crypto entrepreneur behind the Tron blockchain and is in talks with the Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve civil fraud charges.
His case was paused in February, shortly after investing tens of millions of dollars into World Liberty’s WLFI token.
The $TRUMP coin, roughly 80% of which is controlled by the Trump Organization and affiliates, rose in value by about 2% on Tuesday to $13.27, according to Coinmarketcap.com. That values the circulating supply at $2.65 billion, making it the 39th most valuable cryptocurrency. Bitcoin is the most valuable at $2.1 trillion.
Like with other meme coins, there’s no underlying product.
The project’s website says the coins “are not intended to be, or to be the subject of, an investment opportunity, investment contract, or security of any type.”
The SEC issued guidance in February saying that most meme coins are not considered securities under U.S. federal law.
Watchdog group Accountable.US referred to the moment as seeing “corruption unfold in real time” and renewed warnings that the $TRUMP token competition is opening backdoor access to foreign and corporate actors with little oversight and major stakes in Trump-linked assets.
“This dubious situation perfectly sums up why this $TRUMP coin competition was always going to become a magnet for foreign influence, unprecedented self-dealing and next level swampiness,” said Tony Carrk, executive director of Accountable.US.
The nature of the pseudonymous wallets raises questions about the true identities and motivations of the token’s largest holders.
Documents from blockchain analytics firm Inca Digital that were reviewed by CNBC show where the top 275 $TRUMP token holders send and receive the token. Many are heavily tied to international exchanges like Binance that don’t service U.S. customers, an indication that they’re likely not U.S. citizens.
An analysis by Bloomberg revealed that 19 of the top 25 wallets are almost certainly owned by individuals operating outside the U.S.
The leaderboard — now closed — captured an extraordinary concentration of wealth and influence behind a volatile asset launched just days before the inauguration.
More than $5.2 billion in realized gains have flowed to the top-performing wallets, while a larger number of addresses — over 590,000 — have collectively lost $3.9 billion, according to Inca Digital.
Democrats are sounding the alarm over what they describe as the most brazen pay-to-play scheme in U.S. presidential history — warning that Trump’s deep financial ties to the $TRUMP meme coin and his use of the White House to boost its value pose serious risks to national security and public trust.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., the ranking member of the Senate Subcommittee on Investigations, said that the Trump family’s growing crypto holdings may serve as a backdoor for foreign and corporate interests seeking access to the president.
He also called the competition “an unprecedented, pay-to-play scheme to provide access to the presidency to the highest bidder.”
Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., introduced the “End Crypto Corruption Act” to block elected officials and senior executive branch personnel from issuing or endorsing digital assets.
Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., derailed a digital assets hearing to convene a Democrat-only session focused solely on Trump’s crypto empire.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., meanwhile, is demanding an ethics probe into a reported deal between Trump’s crypto firm and a UAE sovereign wealth fund, warning it may violate federal bribery laws. She also raised questions about a White House waiver granted to crypto czar David Sacks, who reportedly advised on crypto policy while holding investments in the space.
But with Republicans in control of the White House and both chambers of Congress, Democrats have little real power to advance legislation or open formal investigations. Their push has so far been largely symbolic — a high-volume messaging campaign aimed at drawing public attention to what they view as unchecked corruption at the intersection of politics and crypto.
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