WASHINGTON — More than half of the top 100 holders competing for seats at President Donald Trump’s next $TRUMP meme coin dinner moved their money through crypto exchanges that bar U.S. customers, according to a CBS News analysis.
The dinner is set for November 22 at Trump National Golf Club outside Washington. The coin’s promoter, Fight Fight Fight LLC, says on its website that it will seat 185 of the largest holders, with Trump as the featured speaker alongside three yet-to-be-named “legends.” The top 29 holders get front seating and a VIP reception with the president. A public leaderboard lists only the top 100.
At least 52 of those 100 moved funds through exchanges that bar U.S. customers, including Binance, Bybit and MEXC, CBS News reported. At least 44 used Binance before buying $TRUMP. Together those users account for nearly $6.8 million of the more than $15 million on the leaderboard as of Wednesday. The top wallet holds about 1.5 million tokens, worth nearly $3 million, received in two transfers on October 8, the larger from a wallet that has used Binance. It is unclear whether one person controls both.
The finding stops short of proof of nationality. “All you can know with certainty is that a non-U.S. person or entity sent funds,” said Matt Fiebach, co-founder of Entropy Advisors.
Ethics specialists were blunt. “Foreign actors used to need a back door to try to influence a president,” said Zach Everson, a researcher at Public Citizen, and Trump is “holding the front door open.” Virginia Canter, a former ethics lawyer in Republican and Democratic administrations, said foreign buyers are “literally buying a seat at the president’s own table.”
The money runs to Trump. His financial disclosure shows at least $635 million in royalties last year from a licensing deal tied to the token, part of more than $1.4 billion from crypto ventures, the same holdings at the center of the Senate fight over Trump’s crypto ethics. CIC Digital LLC, a Trump Organization affiliate, and Fight Fight Fight own 80% of the supply, and a Trump Organization affiliate earns revenue whenever the coin trades. The token peaked at $75.35 days after its January 2025 launch and was about $2 on Wednesday.
The Trump Organization did not respond to CBS News. A White House official called the dinner “a private event, not a government function” and said nothing is promised in return for attending. Binance pleaded guilty in 2023 to federal charges including failure to prevent money laundering; Trump pardoned its co-founder, Changpeng Zhao, in October 2025.
The leaderboard shows wallets, not names, and a wallet that has touched Binance is not proof of where its owner lives.
