President Donald Trump is organizing two crypto-themed dinners this month, raising ethical concerns among lawmakers. The first dinner took place at the Trump National Golf Club in Virginia, hosted by super PAC MAGA Inc., featuring a ‘Crypto & AI Innovators Dinner’ with tickets priced at $1.5 million per plate. Attendees included crypto czar David Sacks. Simultaneously, Trump announced a gala dinner on May 22 for holders of the $TRUMP meme coin at his private club.\nThe top 220 token holders are invited, with the top 25 receiving a private reception and a White House tour. Access to the dinner is determined by the number of $TRUMP tokens held in a person’s wallet, as shown on a live leaderboard on the project’s site. Most wallet holders remain pseudonymous.\nThese events have drawn criticism from lawmakers, such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Adam Schiff, who accuse Trump of selling political access to wealthy crypto supporters. Warren has also raised concerns about the Trump-linked stablecoin USD1, launched by World Liberty Financial, co-founded by Trump’s son Eric. The coin has surged following a $2 billion investment from Abu Dhabi’s MGX Group into Binance. Warren described the situation as indicative of corruption.\nDebate continues over transparency in political crypto fundraising, as neither Trump nor his campaign have disclosed the identities of top token holders. Watchdog group Accountable.US labeled the $TRUMP leaderboard dinner as a corrupt self-enrichment scheme, noting concerns about potential foreign actor involvement. Despite terms stating that Trump’s attendance isn’t guaranteed, interest in the token has increased by over 50% since the dinner announcement. If the May 22 dinner is canceled, winners will receive a Trump-branded NFT.\n— new from Decrypt
