Top meme coin buyers vying for Trump dinner appear to be overseas

Key points

• More than half of the top 100 $TRUMP holders competing for the Nov. 22 dinner used exchanges that bar U.S. customers.
• The dinner will seat the 185 largest holders at Trump National Golf Club outside Washington.
• Trump earned at least $635 million in royalties last year from a licensing deal tied to the $TRUMP token.

More than half of the top holders competing for seats at President Trump's next meme coin dinner have used cryptocurrency exchanges that prohibit U.S. customers, suggesting many buyers are based overseas, according to a CBS News analysis. The gala is set for Nov. 22 at Trump National Golf Club outside Washington, where the 185 largest holders of the $TRUMP meme coin will be seated, according to the website for Fight Fight Fight LLC, the company behind the coin.

Trump is billed as the featured speaker alongside three yet-to-be-named "legends." The top 29 holders will receive upfront seating and a VIP reception with the president, the website says. The event is the latest example of the intermingling of business and politics during Trump's second term.

Overseas exchange use

Of the 100 top holders listed on the public leaderboard, at least 52 moved funds through crypto exchanges that bar U.S. customers, including Binance, Bybit and MEXC, the analysis found. At least 44 transacted through Binance before buying $TRUMP. Those users account for nearly $6.8 million of the more than $15 million in value reflected on the leaderboard as of Wednesday.

Matt Fiebach, co-founder of the crypto data firm Entropy Advisors, said accounts using such exchanges are typically treated as likely belonging to people outside the U.S. "All you can know with certainty is that a non-U.S. person or entity sent funds," Fiebach said.

Trump is holding the front door open and inviting them in for a steak dinner.

— Zach Everson, researcher for Public Citizen

Financial and political stakes

Trump earned at least $635 million in royalties last year from a licensing deal tied to the $TRUMP token, according to his financial disclosure. An affiliate of the Trump Organization earns revenue whenever the coin is traded, the meme coin's website says. CIC Digital LLC and Fight Fight Fight together own 80% of the total $TRUMP supply.

The coin's total market value has dropped more than 95% since its peak in January 2025, to about $532 million. Democrats and progressive watchdog groups have raised foreign influence questions, warning that people overseas could be paying for access to the president. A White House official said the event is "a private event, not a government function, and there is no promise of official government action in exchange for attending."