Source: NBC News
Compiled and organized by BitpushNews
On Thursday local time, over 200 wealthy, mostly anonymous crypto enthusiasts will gather in Washington to dine with U.S. President Donald Trump.
According to data analysis from blockchain analytics firm Nansen, the cost of admission was steep, with these "winners" spending between $55,000 and $37.7 million on Trump's official cryptocurrency token, $TRUMP.
The dinner organizers determined eligibility for seats based on how much $TRUMP tokens were held at specific points in time. Nansen found that these "winners" collectively spent $394 million on Trump's official cryptocurrency, although some had sold part or all of their holdings after the competition ended. Of course, the spending varied widely: the top seven each spent over $10 million, while the bottom 24 spent less than $100,000 each.
Research shows that one-third (67 people) of the "winners" spent over $1 million, with an average spending of $1,788,994.42 per "winner."
According to CoinMarketCap, which tracks cryptocurrency prices, the value of $TRUMP fluctuated wildly, similar to many meme coins. Nansen tracked the spending of each "bidder" when purchasing $TRUMP.
These 220 buyers were invited to the dinner held at Trump National Golf Club (Washington, D.C.). Although the competition website claimed that Trump "attended the dinner as a guest and did not raise funds for it," it simultaneously pointed out that 80% of the ownership of the $TRUMP token project belongs to two Trump-related companies—CIC Digital and Fight Fight Fight LLC.
This personal cryptocurrency and related bidding event, which ended last Monday, adds another example of Trump seemingly using his presidential position for personal gain.
His business interests are held by a trust controlled by his son, Donald Trump Jr., and he intertwines many family businesses with his presidential activities, including hosting events at his social clubs (like this cryptocurrency dinner) and posting exclusive political statements on his social media app, Truth Social.
Trump's cryptocurrency also generates revenue for his affiliated companies through trading. Each transaction of $TRUMP tokens incurs a transaction fee. Another cryptocurrency research firm, Chainalysis, estimated that nearly $900,000 in transaction fees were generated within the first two days after the competition was announced.
Dan Weiner, director of the Brennan Center for Justice's elections and government program, told NBC News that while most federal employees are legally prohibited from using their positions for economic gain, the president largely enjoys exemptions.
Dan Weiner stated, "The president is not subject to the broad conflict of interest prohibitions that apply to almost all other federal government employees." He added, "Overall, even by the standards of Trump's first administration, this is quite crazy, when various people were doing business at the president's hotel. Now this goes far beyond that, but it doesn't necessarily mean he is breaking the law."
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly stated in a statement, "The president is working to secure better deals for the American people, not for himself. President Trump acts only in the best interests of the American public—that's why, despite facing years of lies and false accusations from the fake news media against him and his businesses, the vast majority still re-elected him to this position."
Even the lowest-ranked winner's spending far exceeds the legal limit of $3,500 for direct contributions to political candidates by American citizens.
On Tuesday, the highest spender was revealed to be crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun, who told Forbes in March that he had become a citizen of the Caribbean nation of St. Kitts and Nevis. Justin Sun had been sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), but the case has been paused during Trump's administration.
The identities of most other competition winners remain undisclosed, known only through their pseudonyms and cryptocurrency wallet addresses. However, independent crypto researcher Molly White analyzed that most attendees appear to be foreign nationals. Molly White tracked each winning wallet's transactions across different cryptocurrency exchanges and noted that the holders seemed to be using exchanges that are legally not permitted for U.S. citizens.
Molly White told NBC News that among the 220 wallets associated with the bidding winners, 158 (72%) appeared to be foreign wallets.
An investigation by The New York Times reported that the list of winners included representatives from cryptocurrency companies in Singapore and Australia.
Dan Weiner pointed out that the high proportion of non-U.S. citizens among the bidding winners is noteworthy, as it is generally illegal for non-U.S. citizens to donate to U.S. political candidates.
He said, "This is an incredible contrast. We have very strict laws prohibiting foreign nationals from making campaign contributions. So the huge irony here is that many of the people buying this currency were not eligible to donate $100 to a presidential campaign. We have a series of laws designed to prevent these occurrences, which both parties agree should be avoided. However, this situation is unfolding."
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