Why Donald Trump’s meme coin dinner is under scrutiny

• Donald Trump’s private meme coin dinner gathered crypto influencers and is now under scrutiny from House Democrats.
• Rep. Jamie Raskin has called for a detailed list of attendees and an investigation into the source of the funds they used to buy crypto.
• Ethical and legal concerns surround the dinner, with Democrats questioning Trump Media Group’s Bitcoin reserve plans and Middle East business dealings.
• The meme coin sector has observed a decline in market capitalization since the private dinner event.

United States (US) President Donald Trump hosted a private meme coin dinner for holders of his Official Trump token (TRUMP). The attendees included a Chinese billionaire, an attorney and a former basketball star among others, according to a The New York Times report. 

House Democrats called for an investigation into the dinner and the guest list, highlighting the legal and ethical concerns of the event. 

Trump’s top 5 crypto dinner guests ranked by popularity

Justin Sun, the founder of TRON and a Chinese crypto billionaire who has previously faced charges brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), was one of the key attendees. Sun is a major investor in the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial, a DeFi firm. Sun is also the largest TRUMP token holder, with nearly $22 million in the President’s meme coin and nearly $75 million in World Liberty Financial’s native token. 

Justin Sun's tweet on Trump Gala | Source: X

Florida-based crypto investor Anthony Bravo, who previously made headlines for getting his girlfriend arrested for stealing $850,000 worth of TRUMP tokens from him, is also listed as an attendee in The New York Times story. 

Delphi Digital’s co-founders and market maker Wintermute’s CEO were among the invitees, alongside Trump’s business partner and friend Bill Zanker, according to the NYT. 

Why Democrats are pressing for details of the source of funds 

House Democrats have launched an investigation into Trump’s dinner, according to a Washington Post story. Representative Jamie Raskin asked for a detailed list of dinner guests and stated that he would investigate Trump’s crypto venture.

Democrats believe there are serious ethical and legal concerns related to the private dinner, including the expenditure of the dinner, the source of funds used by the invitees to purchase the TRUMP token, which implies the involvement of foreign governments seeking to influence the White House. 

The article quotes Rep.Raskin’s letter, 

“Publication of this list will also let the American people know who is putting tens of millions of dollars into our President’s pocket so we can start to figure out what — beyond virtually worthless memecoins — they are getting in exchange for all this money.” 

Reps are concerned over the political entities’ profit from coin sales, whether buyers faced disclosure requirements and other legal constraints that are typically applied to political campaign donations. 

The party is far from over

The Trump Media and Technology Group signed the fine print to raise $2.5 billion from 50 investors to purchase Bitcoin and set up a strategic reserve, raising further questions on the Trump family’s crypto-related business deals, the Middle East deals and the operations of Delaware-registered Fight Fight Fight run by Trump’s longtime friend and associate Bill Zanker. Together the entities hold 80% of TRUMP token’s total supply, fueling the Democrat’s concerns over Trump’s crypto parties.