Hours after US President Donald Trump hosted a dinner with holders of his cryptocurrency token $TRUMP, the White House has not released a complete list of attendees, which reportedly included major industry players from overseas. But Justin Sun, the top holder of $TRUMP and founder of the blockchain company Tron, has not been shy about his participation.
“The gala dinner we had today I think sends a very strong signal,” Sun told the South China Morning Post in a video interview after the dinner. “I think it’s really going to change a lot of people’s opinions about crypto policymaking here … [It] will have a global impact.”
Trump held the dinner on Thursday night at the Trump National Golf Club in Washington with the biggest holders of his so-called memecoin, which he launched in January, three days before his inauguration for a second presidential term. The top 220 holders of $TRUMP were eligible to join the dinner, but the full guest list has not been released, with the White House calling it a private event.
The dinner has been criticised as a means for people to pay for influence with and access to the US president. Sun’s 1,432,003.302 $TRUMP tokens, bought in different batches in recent months, are currently worth roughly US$19.8 million, according to CoinGecko data. The token’s value plummeted about 15 per cent within hours of the dinner’s conclusion.
Sun said he did not have the opportunity to speak directly with the president, but he was excited to be a front-row witness to the “historic moment”.
Justin Sun (centre) poses with other attendees at Trump’s dinner for top holders of his cryptocurrency. Photo: Justin Sun
The crypto entrepreneur, who made global headlines last year when he publicly ate a banana that was part of the artwork “Comedian” he bought for US$6.2 million, was quick to invest in Trump after his election in November.
