Topline
Cryptocurrency billionaires the Winklevoss twins announced Thursday that they are each donating $1 million worth of bitcoin in support of Donald Trump, the latest billionaires to back the former president, who has increasingly embraced cryptocurrencies during his 2024 campaign.
Tyler Winklevoss and Cameron Winklevoss said they will vote for Donald Trump in November.
Key facts
In an he urged the “crypto army.” do the same.
In his lengthy post, the crypto billionaire attacked the Biden administration, saying it has “openly declared war on crypto” and accused it of arming government agencies to “bully, harass, and harass the good players in our industry.” to complain’.
Cameron Winklevoss also said he donated 15.47 BTC to Trump and said that “he will end the Biden administration’s war on crypto.”
Citing an unnamed spokesperson, CoinDesk reported that the donations would go to the Trump 47 Committee, a joint fundraising committee that can distribute the amount to meet federal legal limits on campaign donations.
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Crucial quote
“The Biden administration has consistently attacked corporate America across the board and vilified its greatest heroes. The crime is always success and the reward is always ridicule, fines and more red tape,” Tyler Winklevoss wrote in his post.
Important background
The Winklevoss twins and their cryptocurrency exchange Gemini have faced multiple lawsuits from investors and the government in recent years due to the 2022 collapse of their 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 Earn program customers and pay a $37 million fine for non-compliance.
Forbes rating
According to our estimates, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss each have a net worth of $2.7 billion, which puts them both at 1,242nd 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 term in the White House. In 2019, he said he was “not a fan” of Bitcoin and other crypto tokens, which were “not money.” He then called these digital currencies “highly volatile” assets “based on thin air,” and criticized them for enabling “illegal behavior.” In recent months, however, Trump has made efforts to gain support from the technology and crypto industries and has presented himself as their supporter. The former president’s campaign is now accepting cryptocurrency donations and even claims that bitcoin miners help “stabilize the energy supply of the electric 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 US and positioned the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency as the “last line of defense against” a central digital currency bank (CBDC). ). Trump also attacked Biden’s “hatred of Bitcoin” and said his position only helps “China, Russia and the radical communist left.”
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Winklevoss twins say they each gave $1 million to Trump’s presidential campaign (CoinDesk)