Regardless of repeated claims from the White Home that President Donald Trump’s Thursday night gala for the highest holders of his cryptocurrency meme coin had nothing to do together with his official duties, a number of of these buyers visited the White Home Friday afternoon for what they described as a particular VIP occasion, the attendees advised ABC Information.
Sangrok Oh, a Korean crypto investor and entrepreneur, advised ABC Information on Friday that he and different prime buyers had been invited to tour the White Home Friday afternoon, although it was not clear to him whether or not Trump himself would meet them.
“So, we will go to and tour the White Home [and] on the similar time discuss crypto industries and the way forward for crypto,” Oh stated.
Thursday night time’s black tie occasion, held at Trump’s Washington-area golf membership, was attended by round 200 cryptocurrency merchants, together with many from abroad, who gained admission by means of a contest that awarded invites to the highest buyers in Trump’s meme coin — with no less than a number of the funds flowing straight into the Trump household’s coffers.
Critics have blasted the gala as a “pay for play” occasion through which buyers who poured thousands and thousands into Trump’s crypto coin bought particular entry to the president.
Information that prime $TRUMP coin buyers visited the White Home appeared to contradict White Home Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s assertion Thursday that the president was attending the crypto gala in a private capability, and that because the dinner didn’t happen on the White Home, it was separate from his official duties.
“The president is attending [the dinner] in his private time,” Leavitt stated Thursday. “It isn’t a White Home dinner. It is not going down right here on the White Home.”
President Donald Trump speaks after signing govt orders within the Oval Workplace of the White Home Might 23, 2025 in Washington.
Mandel Ngan/AFP by way of Getty Photos
The White Home didn’t instantly reply on Friday to a request for remark from ABC Information.
Cherry Hsu, an govt at MemeCore, a Singapore-based blockchain startup, stated the agency’s founder, identified publicly as “Ice,” had additionally been invited to the White Home on Friday afternoon. MemeCore, in keeping with the contest leaderboard, completed second within the competitors with $TRUMP coin holdings in extra of $1 million.
And late Friday, Justin Solar, a Chinese language crupto mogul and the highest investor in Trump’s meme coin, posted a highly produced video of his White Home tour, writing on X, “Was an honor to be invited to tour the @WhiteHouse. Such a privilege to see it in individual.”
Along with his multimillion-dollar funding within the $TRUMP coin, Solar has additionally invested $75 million in World Liberty Financial, one other Trump-backed crypto enterprise. One month after that funding, SEC attorneys below the Trump administration moved to halt an alleged fraud case in opposition to Solar.
The Trump meme coin’s web site at one level earlier this month marketed a “Particular VIP White Home tour” for the highest 25 meme coin holders as a part of the competition — however as of final week, the location stated solely {that a} “Particular VIP tour” can be organized, with out mentioning the White Home.
The positioning additionally included a disclaimer saying the tour was being organized by the Battle Battle Battle LLC, and that the president himself can be showing as a “visitor.”
