- October 17, 2024
- Posted by: admin
- Category: BitCoin, Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Investments
A political action committee supporting former President Donald Trump has raised approximately $7.5 million in crypto donations since early June, according to a recent filing with the Federal Election Commission. The Trump 47 joint fundraising committee received contributions in Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, as well as stablecoins Tether and USD Coin.
The latest filing, submitted on Tuesday, covers donations from July 1 through September 30 and includes cumulative contributions. This huge amount of crypto donations confirms the previous data, which confirmed that the industry is betting heavily on Trump, with the US election only three weeks away.
Bitcoin And Crypto Donations Bolster Trump Campaign
Trump, who previously expressed skepticism toward Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies during his presidency, has repositioned himself as a pro-crypto candidate. In May, he became the first major presidential contender to accept campaign donations in digital assets. “The campaign has raised $25 million from the crypto industry,” Trump announced during a keynote speech at a Bitcoin conference in Nashville in July.
Nearly half of all corporate money flowing into the upcoming election has come from the crypto sector, according to a report by the nonprofit watchdog group Public Citizen. Major contributors include Coinbase, Ripple, and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, collectively accounting for a significant portion of business donations. The industry has raised roughly 13 times the amount it brought in during the last presidential election cycle.
At least 18 donors contributed more than $5.5 million in Bitcoin to the Trump 47 committee, while another seven individuals donated around $1.5 million in Ether, as per the filing. Contributors hail from over 15 states, including key battlegrounds, as well as the US territory of Puerto Rico. Their professions range from software engineers at defense contractor Lockheed Martin to sales engineers at Duthie Power Services and producers at Esperanza Entertainment.
David Bailey, CEO of media group BTC Inc., contributed over $498,000 in Bitcoin. Bailey was instrumental in “orange-pilling” Trump, culminating in the former president’s participation in the Nashville conference. Mike Belshe, CEO of digital asset security firm BitGo, donated nearly $100,000 in Bitcoin. Brian Murray, a partner at Craft Ventures—founded by pro-Trump venture capitalist David Sacks—gave $6,560 in Bitcoin.
Trevor Traina, founder of Kresus Labs, donated over $25,000 in Ether. Bruce Fenton, CEO of Chainstone Labs, contributed $60,000 in Bitcoin. Gary Cardone of Cardone Digital Ventures donated over $840,000 in Bitcoin. Stuart Alderoty, Chief Legal Officer at Ripple, contributed $300,000 in XRP and attended a Trump fundraising event hosted by David Sacks in San Francisco in June.
Alderoty’s contribution contrasts with that of Ripple’s co-founder Chris Larsen, who donated $1 million worth of XRP tokens to Future Forward, a super PAC associated with Democratic campaigns. While the Biden administration has taken a stringent stance toward the crypto industry, Larsen expressed confidence in Vice President Kamala Harris’s understanding of the innovation economy due to her Bay Area roots.
“She knows people who have grown up in the innovation economy her whole life,” Larsen told CNBC. “I think she gets it at a fundamental level, in a way that I think the Biden folks were just not paying attention to, or maybe just didn’t make the connection between empowering workers and making sure you have American champions dominating their industries.”
In addition to Larsen, Marvin Ammori, General Counsel at Uniswap Labs—which is currently facing legal challenges over alleged securities law violations—also contributed to political action committees aligned with Democratic interests. On the pro-Trump side, billionaire twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss have significantly supported the campaign, each contributing nearly $1.1 million. Some of these funds were refunded in September due to exceeding legal contribution limits.
Among the new donors is Chase Herro, co-founder of World Liberty Financial, Trump’s new crypto project. The platform aims to function as a decentralized bank, encouraging users to borrow, lend, and invest in cryptocurrencies. Despite launching its token sale with an initial fundraising goal of $300 million, the project has so far sold over $10.2 million worth of WLFI tokens. The launch faced technical issues, including website crashes during the sale.
At press time, BTC traded at $67,989.
