Donald Trump’s presidential campaign bagged a massive campaign donation from the billionaire Winklevoss twins – to be handed over in the form of bitcoin.
Tyler Winkelvoss, who was portrayed as rival to a young Mark Zuckerberg at Harvard in ‘The Social Network,’ announced the donation on X.
‘I just donated $1 million in bitcoin (15.47 BTC) to @realDonaldTrump and will be voting for him in November,’ he posted online. Then he stated his reasons, saying that, ‘Over the past few years, the Biden Administration has openly declared war against crypto’ and said it had ‘weaponized government agencies’ in the effort.
‘The Biden Administration has consistently attacked American business across the board and villainized its greatest heroes,’ he said.
Bitcoin Magazine wrote that the donations from the pair would be valued at $2 million in bitcoin.
The donation by Gemini cofounders Cameron and Tyler comes at a time when Trump is trying to catch up to President Biden’s money advantage in cash-on-hand, even as both camps haul in startling sums.
The Trump camp telegraphed its interest in new currencies with a ‘now accepting crypto’ announcement on its campaing website.
And Trump himself has cast himself as a new technology and media baron, with a paper value of billions on his Trump Media company, although shares took a dive after his Manhattan guilty verdict.
Trump and former first lady Melania Trump have each dabbled in the sale of digital NFTs.
The Gemini crypto exchange has had difficulties, returning more than $1 billion to customers from a defunct lending program and agreeing to pay a $37 million fine for unsafe lending practices.
They also blasted the Securities and Exchange Commission and called Trump ‘pro-Bitcoin.’
President Donald J. Trump is the pro-Bitcoin, pro-crypto, and pro-business choice. This is not even remotely open for debate. Anyone who tells you otherwise is severely misinformed, delusional, or not telling the truth.’
The twins took heat amid major layoffs in 2022 and 2023 when a video of them performing Journey’s ‘Don’t Stop Believin” with their cover band went viral days after a round of cuts.
