Trump meme coin contest winners raked in hundreds of millions of dollars in profits

Hundreds of wallets raced to stack Trump’s meme coin for a chance to have dinner with him, but most of them didn’t stay loyal to the token for long.

After the contest deadline closed on May 12, wallet activity showed that many top holders who secured VIP seats at the event dumped their $TRUMP coins almost immediately.

The contest, which launched on April 23, offered a private gala dinner with President Donald Trump at his golf club in Virginia for the top 25 wallets holding the most $TRUMP. The coin’s price jumped from $9.26 to $15.33 after the announcement.

According to Financial Times, 16 of the 25 wallets labeled as VIP winners have completely emptied their holdings, despite the contest page urging people to “Hold Big. Hold Strong. Hold $TRUMP.” 

These wallets were rewarded with access to a May 22 gala dinner, a special reception with the president, and a private tour. But for most, that seemed to be the end of their relationship with the coin.

Traders cashed out after locking dinner invites

FT’s analysis showed that 22 out of the 25 top wallets didn’t exist on-chain until after the contest began. Five of those wallets made moves that imply they cashed out immediately once their dinner slots were confirmed. 

One of the biggest players was a wallet labeled “Woo”, which transferred 1 million tokens just days before the window closed. Those tokens were worth $10.8 million at entry and $13.3 million at exit, giving Woo a possible profit of $2.6 million.

Another trader, operating under the name “NACH”, is estimated to have made around $52,000 by flipping their stash shortly after the deadline. Meanwhile, someone using the wallet “GAnt” may have dropped close to $1 million just to earn their seat — with no obvious sign of making it back through token sales.

Three wallets — including one tagged “ogle” — had already been holding $TRUMP before the contest launched. Ogle is estimated to have walked away with $4 million in profits, but all from trades before the contest window opened. 

Another account, called “SUN”, is in a very different spot. SUN bought roughly 1 million tokens, including a massive buy of 800,000 coins at $61.13 each, well above the current trading price of $12.96. Based on current values, that wallet is now sitting on a potential $66 million loss.

Justin Sun speculated to be behind massive losing wallet

The SUN wallet’s name, timing, and activity have led many in the crypto community to believe it belongs to Justin Sun, the Chinese crypto investor. 

The wallet is connected to HTX, where Justin serves as an adviser, and he also recently invested $75 million into World Liberty Financial, a Trump-linked crypto company that isn’t directly tied to the memecoin contest. When asked about the wallet, Justin told the FT he had no comment.

Even though SUN is underwater, it still landed one of four custom watches given to the largest token holders during the competition. That giveaway was separate from the dinner invites and was based purely on wallet balances during the contest period. It’s unclear if the watch makes up for the loss, but the address still ranks among the top holders in raw volume.

Beyond the 25 VIPs, another 195 participants earned a general admission ticket to the dinner. But just like the VIPs, many of them moved on from the token once the snapshot was taken. FT’s data shows 56 of those 195 wallets were emptied out after the contest closed.

Wallets that won labeled themselves with nicknames on the coin’s official website, but none of the owners are publicly identified. There’s no verification system, and no direct links to real names have been confirmed, except in speculation around Justin Sun’s possible involvement.

What’s clear is that most contestants saw this whole setup as a chance to flip the token for a profit. They got in, they held just long enough, and once their invitation was locked, they got out — fast. The memecoin’s purpose was short-lived, and for a few wallets, very profitable.

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