Topline
Cryptocurrency billionaires the Winklevoss twins on Thursday announced they are donating $1 million worth of bitcoin each to support Donald Trump, the latest billionaires to back the former president who has increasingly embraced cryptocurrencies on his 2024 campaign trail.
FILE PHOT Tyler Winklevoss and Cameron Winklevoss said they will be voting for Donald Trump in … [+]
Key Facts
In an X post announcing his 15.47 BTC ($1 million) donation, Tyler Winklevoss said he will be voting for Trump in November because he was “pro-Bitcoin, pro-crypto, and pro-business choice” and urged the “crypto army” to do the same.
In his lengthy post, the crypto billionaire attacked the Biden administration, saying it has “openly declared war against crypto” and accused it of weaponizing government agencies to “bully, harass, and sue the good actors in our industry.”
Cameron Winklevoss also said he has donated 15.47 BTC to Trump and said “he will put an end to the Biden Administration’s war on crypto.”
Citing an unnamed spokesperson, CoinDesk reported the donations would go to the Trump 47 Committee, a joint fundraising committee that may divide the amount to comply with federal legal limits for campaign donations.
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Crucial Quote
“The Biden Administration has consistently attacked American business across the board and villainized its greatest heroes. The crime is always success and the reward is always ridicule, fines, and even more red tape,” Tyler Winklevoss wrote in his post.
Key Background
The Winklevoss twins and their cryptocurrency exchange Gemini have faced multiple investor and government lawsuits over the past few years stemming from the 2022 collapse of its high-interest earning program, Gemini Earn. As part of a settlement with the New York Department of Financial Services in February, Gemini agreed to return $1.1 billion to customers of the Earn program and pay a $37 million fine for compliance failures.
Forbes Valuation
According to our estimates, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss have a net worth of $2.7 billion each, placing them both in the 1,242nd spot on the Real Time Billionaires List.
Tangent
Trump and his campaign have been vocal about their pro-crypto and pro-bitcoin stance in recent months. This is a complete turnaround for the former president, who was previously skeptical of cryptocurrencies during his White House term. In 2019, he said he was “not a fan” of Bitcoin and other crypto tokens, which were “not money.” He then referred to these digital currencies as “highly volatile” assets “based on thin air,” and criticized them for facilitating “unlawful behavior.” In the past few months, however, Trump has made an effort to garner support from the tech and crypto industry and has presented himself as their supporter. The former president’s campaign now accepts cryptocurrency donations and even claimed bitcoin miners help “stabilize energy supply from the grid.” In a post on his Truth Social platform earlier this month, the former President said he wants all remaining bitcoin to be mined in the U.S. and positioned the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency as the “last line of defense against” a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Trump also attacked Biden’s “hatred of Bitcoin”, saying his stance only helps “China, Russia, and the Radical Communist Left.”
Further Reading
Winklevoss Twins Say They Each Gave $1 Million to Trump Presidential Campaign (CoinDesk)
