For weeks, rich people have been scooping up the Trump household’s cryptocurrency in hopes of amassing sufficient to qualify for one in every of 220 seats at a dinner with President Donald Trump himself. Within the phrases of Trump’s personal web site: “The competitors is fierce. Personal $TRUMP—or watch from the sidelines.” Now, the leaderboard is closing and the winners from all over the world are set to descend on Washington, D.C., to rub shoulders with the world’s strongest man. So, who’s going?
Whereas the leaderboard is public, the identification of every winner—obscured by pseudonymous blockchain addresses—shouldn’t be. However an evaluation by Fortune revealed that 18 out of those prime 25 holders have interacted with Binance, a international crypto trade that excludes People, that means they’re probably international nationals.
In the meantime, among the winners—the highest 25 of whom are entitled to attend an “ultra-exclusive non-public VIP Reception”—have publicly recognized themselves or been recognized by a crypto analytics agency. Listed below are three friends slated to go to the “Gala Dinner,” which critics have lambasted as an unprecedented instance of corruption.
The White Home didn’t reply to a request for remark.
Chinese language crypto billionaire Justin Solar
With greater than $18 million in Trump’s memecoin, in response to Monday costs, the highest spot on the leaderboard is recognized just by the title “SUN.” The crypto analytics corporations Arkham Intelligence and Nansen have mentioned that the pockets is linked to HTX, a crypto trade for which the billionaire Justin Solar serves as international adviser.
Neither Solar, who advised Forbes in March that his web price exceeds $40 billion, nor HTX responded to requests for remark.
The billionaire is a controversial determine within the crypto trade. Born in China, Solar based Tron, a blockchain that hosted 58% of all illicit exercise in crypto in 2024, in response to a report from crypto analytics agency TRM Labs. (Illicit crypto volumes on Tron, nonetheless, declined by $6 billion from the 12 months prior.)
Solar has discovered himself within the midst of quite a few crypto debacles. Most lately, he allegedly pushed crypto commerce outlet CoinDesk to spike a narrative on how the crypto billionaire purchased and ate a $6.2 million banana.
Singapore crypto agency MemeCore
With about $17.5 million in Trump’s memecoin, the second largest holder on the leaderboard is the Singaporean crypto startup MemeCore, in response to public posts from the agency and Nansen.
Based in January 2024, the agency is constructing a blockchain for memecoins, or cryptocurrencies created as jokes with none inherent worth, Ting Hsu, MemeCore’s chief enterprise growth officer, advised Fortune. Trump himself is likely one of the most “iconic” memes, she mentioned.
Hsu didn’t share precisely how the corporate is funding its Trump crypto investments, however she did say among the cash got here from the corporate’s “inner treasuries” in addition to from one of many startup’s nameless cofounders, whose identification she declined to share. That nameless founder will attend the dinner with Trump on Might 22, in response to Hsu.
The Memecore government didn’t know who else was planning to attend the dinner and was additionally curious to see the visitor record. “Why [do] you guys wish to be a part of this?” she requested.
Australian investor Kain Warwick
Whereas he’s not one of many prime 25 largest Trump memecoin holders, Kain Warwick, an Australian crypto investor, has made the highest 220, in response to The New York Occasions. (Warick didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark from Fortune.)
The founding father of the crypto firm Infinex, Warwick was enjoying basketball together with his children on a weekend afternoon in January when he noticed on social media that the forty seventh president had apparently launched his personal memecoin, in response to his X account.
He didn’t know whether or not the cryptocurrency was legitimately Trump’s and labored feverishly to confirm that it was actual. He ultimately did, invested some cash, and went again to enjoying together with his kids.
However, as he was taking his children to the seaside, he doubled his guess. “Yesterday was a once-in-a-career alternative,” he wrote, reflecting someday in a while Trump’s cryptocurrency launch.
This story was initially featured on Fortune.com
