Former President Donald Trump has successfully raised over $4 million in cryptocurrency for his presidential campaign.
According to recent Federal Election Commission filings and a report by CNBC, the crypto political donations have come in the form of Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), and the U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin USDC. Some donations have come in the form of memecoins.
Trump’s campaign has quickly converted these crypto contributions into the more stable USDC, with some funds held for strategic purposes.
The “Trump 47” joint fundraising committee, active from April 1 to June 30, reported the contributions. Notably, 19 donors collectively contributed more than $2.15 million in BTC, highlighting a growing trend among crypto enthusiasts to support political campaigns through digital currencies.
The fundraising milestone underscores a significant shift in campaign finance, reflecting the increasing acceptance and integration of digital assets in political contributions.
In late May, Trump’s crypto holdings exceeded $10 million.
Who has been donating crypto to Trump?
Prominent crypto investors, such as Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, co-founders of Gemini, were key contributors, each donating over $1 million in BTC.
Other notable donations included $50,000 in bitcoin from Mike Belshe, CEO of BitGo, and nearly $845,000 in ether from Jesse Powell, founder of Kraken.
On May 21, The Trump campaign introduced a fundraising page that accepts donations in any cryptocurrency available on the Coinbase platform.
During his campaign trail, Trump has not shied away from expressing a pro-crypto sentiment. Historically, Trump has had a mixed stance on cryptocurrency. In 2019, he expressed skepticism about Bitcoin, calling it “highly volatile.”
However, during this election cycle, Trump said he would embrace crypto in his next presidential term.
“Crypto is moving out of the U.S. because of hostility toward it. I don’t want that. If we are going to embrace it, we will have to let them be here,” he said in a recent rally.
Trump’s pro-crypto stance has led to a surge in digital currency contributions, boosting his campaign finances and highlighting increased acceptance of cryptocurrencies in mainstream politics.
Other means of crypto political donations
On July 22, Engage Raise launched a blockchain-based donation platform allowing U.S. politicians to receive crypto donations via Coinbase’s Base network.
— Jesse Pollak (jesse.xyz) 🛡️ (@jessepollak) July 22, 2024big news: any US politician can now accept onchain donations on @base — link below to sign up and get started.
way lower fees than credit cards, accept donations in thousands of ERC20s, quickly settle to USD for the candidate! pic.twitter.com/FTem0psQQu
The network supports over 240 cryptocurrencies and credit card payments. This type of platform has increased the use of crypto in political activities. Notable users of the platform include Tom Emmer and Cynthia Lummis, with a focus on non-partisan adoption.