[LINK] The transactional nature of the Trump presidency, now on the blockchain

[Stephen Loosley]

Freight Company Tells SEC It Needs Millions in $TRUMP to Get Access to the President

The transactional nature of the Trump presidency, now on the blockchain.


By AJ Dellinger Published May 6, 2025 | Comments (64)
https://gizmodo.com/freight-company-tells-sec-it-needs-millions-in-trump-to-get-access-to-the-president-2000598631


Donald Trump has promised to have dinner with the top holders of his cryptocurrency memecoin $TRUMP, creating a pretty clear-cut opportunity for buying access to the leader of the free world. 

Freight Technologies Inc., a North American-based shipping company, wants to take advantage. The firm’s CEO Javier Selgas recently announced—publicly, on purpose, with zero consequence—that it intends to purchase as much as $20 million worth of $TRUMP so that he can try to influence the president’s policies on tariffs.

According to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing made by the company, it has tapped an institutional investor to provide financing for an initial purchase of $1 million worth of $TRUMP, with the possibility of an additional $19 million. Basically, it’s borrowing up to $20 million to get a seat at the table with Trump. 

The company isn’t shy about that goal, either. In a press release, Selgas said the purchase is part of the company’s “promotion of productive and active commerce between the United States and Mexico.”

The Trump Coin team recently announced that the top 220 holders of the $TRUMP token would be invited to participate in a private dinner with Trump on May 22, with a VIP reception and tour for the top 25 holders—a prospect that immediately set off alarm bells for any reasonable person who believes that you shouldn’t be able to get a trip to the White House for lining the pockets of the president. 

It wasn’t hard to imagine that someone—a CEO, crypto insider, foreign actor—would buy up some $TRUMP in order to get a seat at the table with him for a night. It probably was a little less expected for a company to issue a press release about enacting that strategy.


Per the leaderboard on the Trump Coin website, the $1 million investment should be enough to get Selgas and Freight Technologies in the door for dinner. 

The current top holder of $TRUMP is Justin Sun, the founder of crypto platform TRON, which was investigated by the SEC for allegedly manipulating the price of the cryptocurrency. He holds approximately $1.2 million worth of $TRUMP, and is one of only two people who currently have more than $400,000 worth of the token.

Trump, for his part, is acting like he doesn’t know anything. 

During an appearance on NBC News’ Meet the Press over the weekend, Trump said “I haven’t even looked” when asked if he had profited off his cryptocurrency, which launched shortly before he took office for the second time. 

“If I own stock in something, and I do a good job, and the market goes up, I guess I’m profiting,” he said, which is a pretty good encapsulation of just how deep his understanding of the crypto space.

He doesn’t have to look to profit, of course. Around 80% of all $TRUMP coins are owned by two entities: CIC Digital, an affiliate of the Trump organization, and Fight Fight Fight LLC, which is co-owned by CIC Digital. So the vast majority of the tokens are already in Trump’s pockets. 

When people buy the token, like, for instance, when there is an announcement that holding the coin could get you a private dinner with the president, the price goes up, and so does the value of Trump company holdings. 

They also “receive trading revenue derived from trading activities,” per the Trump Coin site, so they’re cashing in on each transaction, too.


Trump has always been a transactional person. Now it just happens to be logged to the blockchain.



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Paul G
8 hours ago

Duh. We knew this.

But take heart, one or two of our Supreme Court justices will settle for a $250,000 RV. And members of congress will sell for significantly less. They believe in volume sales.

Money does not = "free" speech. 


Pickle Monkey
7 hours ago

Citizens United: money is protected speech. another republicans attrocity for corporate overlords, and billionaires. 

it's incredible that Alito and Thomas were bought so cheaply.


Dr EmilioLizardo
7 hours ago

To be clear, these are not campaign donations or going to some charity (or even "charity"). 

The money goes straight in Donny's pocket.

This is the most nakedly and blatantly corrupt administration in the country's history. Nothing else even comes close.


Pickle Monkey
7 hours ago

indeed. and the duplicity on show is staggeringly corrupt as well.


curry for breakfast
8 hours ago

When you're 78, morbidly overweight, sundowning on a daily basis and pretty much showing signs of dementia the rest of the time, where is the point in making vast amounts of money instead of just trying to enjoy what you have left of a demented approximation of a life? 

The man's heart is likely to explode while golfing at the taxpayers expense, or he's just going to nod off and not wake while sitting at the Resolute, hopefully during a press conference, because that would be hilarious. What is this compulsion for making money, that will never be spent, at the expense of literally everything else? Addiction?

MJTWO
8 hours ago

When your entire sense of self is built on the acquisition of wealth you never stop.  To stop would mean abandoning everything you are.


John Doe
5 hours ago

If a democrat non-incumbent candidate for any level of office tried to do the same thing, the Justice Department would open an investigation for bribery at the behest of President Trump.


Dr. Smith
4 hours ago

And they'd be right to.


jrhmobile
7 hours ago

Gotta give Freight Technologies some credit — at least they said the quiet thing out loud. On the public record: "We're a public company and we have to buy Donnie the Con's memecoins because bribing him is what we've got to do to get his attention." 

engineerthefuture
5 hours ago

I could see the tariffs hurting them pretty badly if there is an increase in places holding on international orders. This is a really easy way for them to show their investors/workers they are doing what they can to help business, showing the naked corruption that is the current White House, and still kissing the ring to be sure they get in the door. 

Pickle Monkey
8 hours ago

soooo corrupt. republicans must never live down the vast corruption in play.


Guest
8 hours ago

That phrase is nonsensical in this context. "Never live down" means that a person feels shame and embarrassment. You're applying it to people who totally lack those emotions/feelings -- ever. And in this instance, they're proud.

still kissing the ring to be sure they get in the door. 


NoReallyButWait
7 hours ago

Cool so he's just holding the country hostage.


John Doe
5 hours ago

Except that no amount of money paid as ransom will get us released. He'll just want more.


RT
2 hours ago

The US should have banned crypto long ago, before it got entrenched.  It has no redeeming benefits unless you’re a criminal, and huge costs to all life on earth.


Kirkaiya
43 minutes ago

I am - slowly - coming around to this point of view. The blockchain has always been technologically interesting to me, and while I never bought any Bitcoin, I've always appreciated the elegance of techniques like Ethereum's contract as code. It's becoming increasingly apparent, though, that the majority of crypto currencies are either outright scams to separate fools from their money, were used by criminals to move money around, or to evade taxes. It's getting harder and harder to see socially redeeming value in them.


Dr. Smith
5 hours ago

Do the coins really say "Second Presidential Term 2021-2025"?

I mean really?


GundamLord
4 hours ago

Right? He’s so petty and juvenile. It’s really difficult for me to understand Trump’s appeal. The vast majority of adults I interact with daily, even conservatives, are more mature than this. And you would think this type of behavior would be a huge turnoff to any rational person.


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