TRUMP Whales Hold $174 Million in Tokens Ahead of Dinner with U.S. President

In a post on platform X dated May 12, the TRUMP project said it would no longer consider additional purchases for the May 22 dinner. It also confirmed that top token holders had been notified and invited to undergo background checks if they wished to attend the dinner and an exclusive VIP tour with the president.

According to the project’s official leaderboard, as of May 12, the top 220 wallets held more than 13.7 million TRUMP tokens — valued at approximately $174 million at the time.

It remains unclear how many of these wallet holders will actually apply and attend the dinner with Trump, or the exclusive reception, which is reportedly set to be held at the White House for the top 25 holders. A Bloomberg report published on May 7 revealed that most token holders are based outside the United States, raising concerns over national security and potential conflicts of interest.

Trump faced criticism from lawmakers and crypto industry leaders after launching the memecoin just days before his inauguration on January 20. Following his April 23 announcement of the dinner, calls for congressional oversight and accusations of corruption have intensified. One senator even called for Trump’s impeachment, while several other representatives have vowed not to support any crypto-related legislation until the matter is addressed.

Several companies, allegedly seeking to influence Trump’s policies, have also invested in the token. In April, Freight Technologies announced a $20 million investment in TRUMP tokens, hoping to gain leverage in Trump’s trade war policies between the U.S. and Mexico — a key market for the company. As of May 12, the firm had not confirmed whether it had qualified to send a representative to the dinner.

Not Trump’s First Appeal to the Crypto Community

During his 2024 campaign, Trump also hosted a dinner for supporters who purchased his “mugshot” NFTs — digital collectibles featuring his photo taken during his surrender to authorities over charges of attempting to overturn the 2020 election.

Many attendees of the mugshot dinner publicly revealed their identities on social media before and during the event. However, as of this writing, no one has publicly claimed they will attend the upcoming memecoin dinner. Wallets with usernames like “Sun” and “elon” have sparked speculation that Tron founder Justin Sun and Tesla CEO Elon Musk — both Trump supporters with financial interests linked to his presidency — may be among the attendees.