Top bidders to attend Trump meme coin dinner appear foreign-based

More than half of the top holders listed as competing for seats at President Trump's next meme coin dinner have used cryptocurrency exchanges that prohibit U.S. customers, indicating that many of the buyers are based overseas, according to a CBS News analysis.

The gala, set for Nov. 22 at the Trump National Golf Club outside Washington, D.C., will seat the 185 largest holders of the $TRUMP meme coin, according to the website for Fight Fight Fight LLC, the company behind the coin. A public leaderboard for the event only lists the top 100 holders.

Mr. Trump is billed as the featured speaker alongside three yet-to-be-named "legends." The top 29 holders will get upfront seating and a VIP reception with the president, the website says.

The upcoming dinner is the latest example of the unprecedented intermingling of business and politics during Mr. Trump's second term.

Mr. Trump earned at least $635 million in royalties last year from a licensing deal tied to the $TRUMP token, according to his financial disclosure. Mr. Trump stands to earn more money from the coin, since an affiliate of the Trump Organization earns revenue whenever the coin is traded, according to the meme coin's website. 

"Foreign actors used to need a back door to try to influence a president," said Zach Everson, a researcher for the progressive consumer rights advocacy group Public Citizen. "Trump is holding the front door open and inviting them in for a steak dinner."

Out of the 100 top holders listed as competing for seats, at least 52 moved funds through crypto exchanges that bar U.S. customers, including Binance, Bybit and MEXC, according to the CBS News analysis.

Because exchanges like Binance bar U.S. customers, analysts typically treat accounts that use them as likely belonging to people outside the U.S., said Matt Fiebach, co-founder of the crypto data firm Entropy Advisors.

"All you can know with certainty is that a non-U.S. person or entity sent funds," Fiebach said.

A cryptocurrency exchange is a company, much like a stock brokerage, where customers trade dollars or other currencies for crypto. CIC Digital LLC, a Trump Organization affiliate, and another company, Fight Fight Fight, together own 80% of the total $TRUMP supply, according to the project's website. The parent company of Fight Fight Fight, Celebration Cards LLC, uses Mr. Trump's name and likeness under a licensing agreement, the website adds.

At least 44 of the users on the leaderboard transacted through Binance prior to purchasing $TRUMP, the analysis found.

CBS News examined the transaction histories of the crypto wallets listed on the gala leaderboard using data from the blockchain intelligence firm Arkham. While it's not possible to see who owns specific wallets, it is possible to identify which exchanges are being used to purchase crypto tokens. 

The users that transacted on the exchanges that bar U.S. customers account for nearly $6.8 million of the more than $15 million in value reflected on the coin leaderboard as of Wednesday. A meme coin is a type of asset that is typically used for commemorative purposes or comedic value, and not a currency. 

In 2023, Binance was forced to offload its U.S. customers after it pleaded guilty to federal charges that included failure to prevent money laundering on its platform and sanctions violations.

Its co-founder, Changpeng Zhao, also pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money-laundering program. (Mr. Trump granted a pardon to Zhao in October 2025, claiming the crypto billionaire was a victim of a political prosecution under President Biden). 

Exchanges can also shed light on who might be making moves to sell their tokens. The largest holder of $TRUMP moved about $70 million worth of the coin in September to an account where it could be sold, just before the gala dinner contest was announced, The Washington Sun reported.

The coin's total market value has dropped more than 95% since its peak in January 2025, to about $532 million, data show.

Democrats and progressive watchdog groups have raised foreign influence questions about the $TRUMP coin, warning that people overseas could be paying for access to the president. 

While it may be possible for a U.S.-based user to circumvent foreign exchange prohibitions by masking their location using a virtual private network, or VPN, many exchanges say they take measures intended to prevent this. 

The Trump Organization did not respond to requests for comment. A White House official said in a statement that the Trump administration only acts in the "best interest of the American people." The official added that the meme coin event is "a private event, not a government function, and there is no promise of official government action in exchange for attending."

This wouldn't be the first time the president has headlined a $TRUMP coin gala. Mr. Trump appeared at a similar meme coin dinner in May 2025 at his golf club in Virginia, and another this April at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

The meme coin has been a financial boon to Mr. Trump, who raked in more than $1.4 billion last year from crypto-related ventures, according to his financial disclosure. 

The current top spot on the Trump gala leaderboard is occupied by a wallet that holds about 1.5 million $TRUMP tokens, valued at nearly $3 million. That wallet received its $TRUMP holdings in two transfers on Oct. 8 — the largest of which came from another wallet that has used the Binance exchange. It's unclear whether the same person controls both.

"As was the case with Trump's previous meme coin gala, it appears that the majority of $TRUMP investors are purchasing his meme coin through overseas exchanges," said Virginia Canter, who worked an ethics lawyer in Republican and Democratic presidential administrations. "Foreign actors are literally buying a seat at the president's own table." 

Within days of its January 2025 launch, the Trump token reached a peak value of $75.35. It has since fallen dramatically — to roughly $2 as of Wednesday. The sharp decline in value has led Democrats to call it an alleged "pump-and-dump" scheme.

Mr. Trump's ties to crypto are expected to be a top oversight area for Democrats should they take a majority in the House or Senate in the 2026 midterm elections.

The Trump family co-founded and holds a stake in World Liberty Financial, a separate crypto company launched in 2024. It generated hundreds of millions in revenue for Mr. Trump last year, his financial disclosure shows. 

World Liberty Financial drew scrutiny in 2025 after MGX, an investment firm backed by the Abu Dhabi government, used World Liberty's stablecoin to make a $2 billion investment in Binance. Both Binance and Mr. Trump denied the pardon for Zhao, the Binance co-founder, was connected to the transaction. 

"I don't know who he is," Mr. Trump told CBS News days after pardoning the crypto billionaire.