The MEME coin $TRUMP of U.S. President Trump has recently launched a "Dinner with the President" event, sparking active trading. However, according to the latest Bloomberg analysis, over half of the top investors holding Trump Coin are trading through overseas exchanges that are prohibited for U.S. residents, strongly suggesting that many major buyers are actually outside the United States.
Trump Coin Has No Borders
The top 200 users holding the most Trump Coin will have the opportunity to be invited to a dinner with Trump at a Virginia golf club on May 22nd, with the top 25 able to participate in an exclusive pre-event reception and a "VIP tour" as described on the official website.
Bloomberg's analysis found that among the top 25 large holders registered on the official leaderboard, except for six, the rest used overseas exchanges that claim to exclude U.S. customers. More broadly, 76% of the top 220 large holders used similar offshore trading platforms.
These buyers are likely from overseas, echoing previous concerns raised by U.S. Congressional Democratic representatives questioning the ethical issues of Trump profiting by promising to "access the president". It also raises doubts about the identity verification of dinner attendees, whose identities are only publicly disclosed with "three to four letter" names on the website, which is very Crypto culture.
Although the MEME coin's website terms mention that attendees must pass a background check and wallet KYC and compliance screening, it does not explain how these screenings will be conducted. Neither the Trump Coin officials nor White House officials have responded.
Does Not Support U.S. Exchanges
Another Bloomberg analysis expanded its observation scope, examining all major buyers (whether registered on the leaderboard or not), revealing that over half (56%) of this broader buyer group also used overseas exchanges. The three most frequently used overseas exchanges by these Trump Coin whales for storage or purchase are Binance, Bybit, and OKX, all of which impose restrictions on U.S. users.
The non-profit organization Accountable.US expressed concern, with its executive director Tony Carrk calling on Congress to require the president to disclose who these shadowy "tribute" payers are, to assess whether public interest is being harmed. The organization also discovered that another cryptocurrency project promoted by Trump and his son, World Liberty Financial, whose stablecoin project is primarily marketed overseas, also has a large number of buyers using cryptocurrency services unavailable in the U.S.
