Gemini CEO Tyler and his twin brother Cameron Winklevoss, the company’s president, have made two of the first major presidential contributions from prominent crypto executives, favoring former President Donald Trump with $1 million each in support, Tyler explained Thursday in an extensive posting on X.
“Over the past few years, the Biden Administration has openly declared war against crypto,” Winklevoss began in the lengthy case against President Joe Biden’s administration. “It has weaponized multiple government agencies to bully, harass, and sue the good actors in our industry in an effort to destroy it.”
Gemini was targeted last year in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission case that accused the exchange of offering unregistered securities, which Tyler Winklevoss called at the time a “manufactured parking ticket.” His explanation for supporting Trump was much more about opposing Biden.
“President Donald J. Trump is the pro-Bitcoin, pro-crypto, and pro-business choice,” he concluded.
Tyler Winklevoss stated he used Trump’s recent openness to crypto contributions, donating 15.47 bitcoin, while his brother posted later that he did the same. According to a spokeswoman, the funds are directed to the Trump 47 Committee Inc., a “joint fundraising committee” that may distribute contributions to comply with legal campaign limits, thus potentially benefiting a broader array of Republican recipients.
The brothers consistently donate equal amounts to U.S. election campaigns, placing them among the top individual contributors for the 2024 elections. Before their latest contributions, they had each donated approximately $2.7 million in total, based on Federal Election Commission records. On the presidential front, they had already supported several major candidates who aimed to challenge Trump for the Republican nomination, including Vivek Ramaswamy, Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Most of their donations, however, have supported the leading political action committee (PAC) for the industry, Fairshake. Their combined $5 million is a notable part of the Fairshake super PAC’s contributions, which have now almost reached $169 million. Those funds have gone towards purchasing external ads for congressional candidates, aiming to fill Congress with crypto advocates.
The Winklevoss donations to Trump 47 align with similar maxed-out contributions from Jeffrey Sprecher, founder, chairman, and CEO of Intercontinental Exchange, and his wife Kelly Lynn Loeffler, former U.S. senator and CEO of Bakkt; Joe Ricketts, founder and former CEO of TD Ameritrade; and Robert Bigelow, owner of Budget Suites of America and founder of the now-defunct Bigelow Aerospace.
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