“I think mostly a man, I was one of the five women there,” she wrote. “I felt like a 50/50th person in the province compared to people from other countries. I met people from China, the Philippines, Dubai, Korea and more.”
The event has been widely criticized since its announcement as government ethics experts and democratic politicians have denounced it as an extreme violation of the president’s norm. Some Republican lawmakers said the event made them uncomfortable. And while the emolations clause in the constitution gives Congress the power to limit the president’s profit from his position through foreign gifts, Trump’s code and many other companies’ broad embraces are far beyond what the previous president did during his tenure.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment Friday. Earlier this week, a spokesman said Trump “acts only in the best interests of the American people.”
Trump’s interests are not entirely clear when it comes to Memecoin, which launched in January. While the contest website claims Trump “appears as a guest at dinner and doesn’t want that fund,” 80% of $Trump’s coin projects are owned by two Trump-owned companies, CIC Digital and Fight Fight LLC. Coin creators receive a transaction fee each time someone buys or sells a coin.
Advances Thursday’s event, Dan Weiner, director of the Brennan Justice for Justice Centre’s election and government programme, said: “And that flies in the face of all the norms we have built around public services. That’s why every other president in recent memory voluntarily sold it out of assets that could lead to conflicts of interest.”
The flashiest arrivals included Justin San, the top $Trump buyer who revealed his identity before the event, and Odom, who played for the Los Angeles Lakers, but appeared to promote his own meme coins on Thursday night.
But with them there was a lesser known set of individuals. If they were among the top 220 owners of $Trump Coin, they also had the option of offering tickets to someone else, according to published rules. The winners, or those who received tickets from them, were not permitted to bring guests.
NBC News requested comment from everyone that could be identified. Most of them didn’t respond.
Some of the participants had a deep connection to the cryptocurrency world.
Jack Lou, CEO of San Francisco-based NFT Marketplace Magic Eden, posted a photo of himself at the X event and was photographed taking part in the NBC News event. Lu had not previously posted about $Trump or ownership about politics.
He was in his photo with him, Magic Eden CEO Chris Ahavan. According to a search for NBC News, in 2024, Akhavan tweeted about appearing at the Trump NFT event, but did not tweet about the possibility of holding $Trump.
In the same photo was Clinton Bembree, the founder of Slingshot Finance, the crypto company that Magic Eden recently acquired. Bembry had not previously posted about purchasing $Trump Coin.
Another attendee, Michael Raumann, posted a signed menu on Instagram and took photos outside the event. According to past media reports and YouTube videos, Raumann works for a German crypto startup.
Stephen Hess, founder of Metaplex, a platform that launches cryptographic products, posted a photo of herself before dinner and was photographed by NBC News outside of the event at Metaplex Hat. Mackenzie Hong, who leads strategy at the Cayman Islands-based Metaplex Foundation, was included in the photo and posted a photo of the event along with company partnership directors Hess and Clay Helms.
According to the dinner website, Metaplex software “spurred the launch of $Trump Token.”
Sandy Carter, chief operating officer of Unstoppable Domains, based in San-Francisco, a blockchain-based web hosting company, also took photos at the event with a group of Metaplex Executives. The former vice president of Amazon Web Services, posted several photos on X.
Bryce Paul, chief investment officer at San Diego Area Investment Fund Tower 18 Capital, posted a selfie from the event on X. He is also the host of the Crypto podcast and the author of a crypto book that is sold as “How to make a big buck with the new Crypto Bull Run… Sell without needing a lot of money.”
Another cryptography owner, Kendall Davis, spoke to NBC News outside the event as he sparred with protesters. He said the industry won him hundreds of millions of dollars after being homeless before, and that he characterized his attendance as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to dine with the president.
Many of the participants maintain a more modest profile. Massachusetts poker player Brian NG was photographed taking part in the event but did not post any identifiable content using his name. On the phone, he confirmed he was present and said it was a great networking event.
Based in Türkiye, Yasin Okan, who worked as a flight attendant following his X and LinkedIn profiles, was posted to Instagram from the event. He did not respond to requests for comment.
New Zealand financial trader and amateur soccer player Dylan Stansfield were also filmed at the event. When contacted for comment, Stansfield said he was “furious that he was identified” and that “people with the “doxxing” code risked their lives.”
In the world of personal security cryptos, there have been several growth causes of concern. In France, a series of violent inviting people have targeted the crypto community last month.
Nick Pinto, an influencer who posted to the event’s Tiktok, Instagram and X, said others at the event were keen to maintain privacy.
“Participants didn’t like cameras. When an event photographer comes in, they sometimes refuse to request a photo,” he told NBC News.
Pinto tried to take a photo with Trump when he appeared, but said he was short.
“He gave a speech and immediately left. I wrote, ‘Can I take a photo?’ On my phone screen, he’s been watching me several times during his speech, just like people do at concerts, so he’s reading it.
