Top $Trump holder heads for an exclusive crypto dinner with the president

Nick Pinto is the Marketing Director for a Family Law Firm in New Jersey. He is also a crypto trader who spent enough money on Donald Trump’s meme coins to win a spot at his scheduled private black tie dinner with the president on Thursday night.

“I was early on Bitcoin and EthereumSo I’ve always traded crypto,” said Pinto, 25. He claims to finish No. 72 on the leaderboard of the token contest.

In an interview, Pinto said he spent $500,000 on the $Trump Meme Token to attend a dinner held at President Trump’s private golf club in Potomac Falls, Virginia, where Washington, DC, shared a screenshot with CNBC, which appears to support his claims.

The $Trump Coin, which has no assets or fundamental value attached, began just before the president’s inauguration in January and is under severe scrutiny from Democrats who say President Trump is profiting from his position in power.

The dinner was announced last month, and promised to reward the top 220 token holders with “the most exclusive invitation in the world.” It was also said that the top 25 finishers will receive a private reception with the president and a “special VIP tour.”

The Democratic senator called the competition a blatant example of “paying to pay for corruption.” Coins increased by 50% after dinner announcement. Earlier this week, the Senate advanced a Trump-backed cryptocurrency bill called the Genius Act after gaining enough democratic support to clear a potential filibuster.

Guests at dinner Thursday night were needed to complete the background check, according to a copy of the invitation read by CNBC. Participants were instructed not to arrive by 5:30pm and dinner was expected to start at 7pm and last for three hours.

Pinto doesn’t know what an investment in $Trump will get him other than dinner. He said he believes the token will be available for use in digital playing cards golf games, which will be announced in December and will be released next month.

“I have a few things I want to ask him,” Pinto said. “I definitely want to know if he wants to use this coin in the game. That’s probably my number one question, because a lot of people don’t know about the game.”

The Trump Coin team did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Because crypto wallets are pseudonyms, most participants in the competition were only shown as 3-4 character usernames linked to the crypto wallet address. According to blockchain analytics company INCA Digital, many of the winners are linked to international exchanges, raising concerns that non-Americans may be paying for the opportunity to influence and influence the US president.

Pinto has made public about his participation, but most of the identities tied to the Top Wallet are unknown. Blockchain data shows that the majority of top participants used offshore exchanges that are prohibited by US residents. An analysis by Bloomberg revealed that 19 of the top 25 wallets and more than half of the top 220 are almost certainly owned by individuals operating outside the US.

The competition subtracted an estimated $148 million purchases from supporters around the world, a massive fundraising for large-scale fundraising of digital assets launched several months ago. Among the attendees is Justin San, the Chinese-born founder of the Tron Blockchain. He confirmed this week that he is a top-ranked investor in the contest.

At current prices, Sun’s $Trump interest is worth more than $20 million. Sun is also the Trump family’s crypto venture, the first major backer of World Liberty Financial, and has purchased the native token “WLFI,” which costs at least $75 million.

In 2023, US regulators accused Sun of illegally selling unregistered securities and artificially inflated token prices. A month after Trump’s second White House term, federal court filings showed that the SEC is in settlement talks with Sun to resolve civil fraud charges.

Memecore, a Singapore-based crypto network in its quest to secure a spot at Trump dinner, came in second with an investment of around $19.7 million, according to a post from X that later deleted. MemeCore did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Some buyers didn’t cut.

Cargo technologyThe Houston-based logistics company said it spent $2 million on the $Trump Token as what it called a strategic push to “champion fair and free trade” across the US-Mexico border. The company has only finished at 250th place. The freight trade on Nasdaq is traded as penny stocks, with a market capitalization of approximately $6.5 million.

The final leaderboard was calculated using time-weighted equations factored in both the size and duration of each participant’s holdings. In other words, early buyers who had consistently held tokens, like Pinto, were able to overtake larger last minute spenders.

Like any other meme coin, $Trump investors must prepare for major ups and downs.

Shortly after its launch in January, Trump Coin surged to a market capitalization of $15 billion before crashing within days. It is currently worth around $2.1 billion.

That volatility has produced tough winners and losers. More than $5.2 billion in profits have flowed to top wallets, with over 590,000 wallets (mostly retailers) losing nearly $4 billion in bulk, according to blockchain data.

More than $324 million in transaction fees have been routed since January into wallets tied to the creators of the project, according to Chainalysis. The token code automatically instructs these addresses to cut each transaction, allowing the team to benefit from ongoing activities. The blockchain analytics company stopped tracking the president’s meme tokens about two weeks ago, citing the need to focus resources on paying clients.

The Trump family enjoys great financial benefits. About 75% of revenue from World Liberty Financial and over 80% of profit from Meme Coin go directly to Trump organizations and affiliated entities. The project also generates hundreds of millions of dollars in transaction fees.

D-Conn. Senator Chris Murphy introduced a law prohibiting President Sitting from profiting on meme coins while in office.

At a press conference hours before dinner, Murphy warned that “just because it unfolds in public places where everyone can see doesn’t mean it’s ramping and not greedy corruption.” He called tonight’s event “may have been the most corrupt of all things corruption.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) went further, describing the rally as a “corruption orgy” and accusing Trump of using the presidency to “enrich himself through code.” She called for changes to the Genius Act, which prohibits the president from profiting from Stablecoin Ventures.

With Republicans controlling both Congresses, Democrats have limited ability to force action.

In response to CNBC’s questions about dinner, White House Deputy Director Anna Kelly said, “The president is working to ensure a good deal for Americans, not for Americans.”

Pinto, who paid $500,000 at his invitation and still holds most of his tokens, said the risk was worth it.

“I couldn’t put in more than I was willing to lose,” he said. “It’s fine if it reaches zero.”

Watch: Trump hosts exclusive gala for meme coin holders as lawmakers raise ethical concerns