Donald Trump is set to welcome a prominent cryptocurrency investor at a gala tonight at a private golf club close to Washington, DC. He enthusiastically refers to the $Trump Token as “the greatest of all of them!!!!!!!”. However, an analysis from the Guardian reveals that nearly half of the attendees have experienced losses after buying it.
The event includes participants from the President’s Meme Coin Contest. Just last month, Trump declared that the 220 crypto wallets holding the most Trump tokens from April 23 to May 12 would win invitations to a private dinner at Trump National Golf Club. Moreover, the top 25 token holders are also invited to a “private VIP reception” with Trump. This announcement spurred a significant increase in coin value, rising over 50%.
Ranking was based on “time-weighted” holdings, with a total of 11.3 million coins. Those actively promoting the coin have climbed to the top of the leaderboard. Yet, an examination of cryptocurrency wallets on the Solana blockchain shows that many investors have faced substantial losses in the process.
Of the 220 winners, 95—around 43%—have reported a collective loss of $8.95 million since the coin’s launch in January, according to their trading history as of May 21.
One contestant, using the name “Gant,” seems to have suffered the largest loss, with a $1.06 million deficit despite ranking fourth on the leaderboard. Another user, “Meow,” has seen a decline of $621,000 even though they’ve reached VIP status.
This situation reflects a broader trend. Data from cryptocurrency analytics firms indicates that approximately 764,000 wallets owned primarily by smaller investors have likely lost money with $Trump. In contrast, only 58 wallets have made over $10 million each on coin purchases. The token’s value peaked just before the president took office and has since fallen 68% from its highest point.
Roughly 40% of gala attendees possess less than one $Trump token. Many bought in during the initial hype and sold off when prices were high. For example, one user, “Uvil,” has made over $7 million with the coin, while others like “Boop” and “Woo” have each profited over $2 million. Tickets to the dinner are selling between $55,000 and $37.7 million, meaning the average cost per seat is around $1 million, as reported by Nansen, a blockchain analytics firm.
So, while not all recipients of the dinner invitations currently hold $Trump, as James Angel, a professor of financial regulations at Georgetown, put it, “the people who pumped them up and dumped them.”
The Guardian’s estimates are based on the assumption that transfers and sales from wallets reflect market price sales, which may not be accurate for every transaction.
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The Trump administration isn’t actively overseeing $Trump. However, the President potentially profits from sales and transaction fees. Trump-related entities like CIC Digital LLC and Fight Fight Fight LLC have issued the coins and hold 80% of the total supply. According to Chain Orisis data, these entities garnered $320 million in transaction fees as of May 6.
Trump’s organization did not respond to requests for comments.
His endorsement of such high-risk assets aligns with a broader relaxation of financial regulations. Recently, the Securities and Exchange Commission has treated most cryptocurrencies more like collectibles than securities, meaning they are not subject to the same regulations. This implies that $Trump transactions may not require the disclosures that stocks or bonds do.
However, experts believe that the specific nature of this memecoin could still justify its classification as a security. Corey Frey, a director for investor protection at the American Consumer Federation, argues that $Trump likely meets the criteria of an investment contract under securities law.
“Promoting these tokens to reasonable investors creates profit expectations related to the entire scheme they think they’re buying,” Frey notes.
Moreover, the fact that Trump entities dominate the supply, paired with the president’s sway over crypto policies, raises concerns about market manipulation and suggests the need for enhanced investor protections, according to Angel.
Additional ethical concerns arise over influential attendees. At the top of the leaderboard is Justin Sun, a crypto billionaire associated with the Tron blockchain. He faced charges of market manipulation and issuing securities without registration, but the SEC dropped the case earlier this year.
Businesses with vested interests are also spending significantly to gain Trump’s favor. Freight Technologies, for example, has bought $20 million in tokens, claiming it supports fair trade between Mexico and the U.S. Similarly, GD Culture Group, which operates an e-commerce platform on TikTok and owns a subsidiary in China, reportedly plans to acquire up to $300 million in Trump tokens, although specific spending details haven’t been disclosed.
“The coin definitely benefits Trump’s family business, and that raises questions about the broader benefit to the United States,” Angel observes.
