2024 Election: Trump’s PAC Secures $7.5 Million in Bitcoin and More
2024 Election – A political action committee (PAC) supporting former President Donald Trump has successfully raised $7.5 million in cryptocurrency to fuel his 2024 presidential election campaign. The Trump 47 PAC garnered these funds from July to September, according to an October 15 filing with the Federal Election Commission.
Breakdown of Donations
The PAC received contributions in various cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), XRP, as well as stablecoins like Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC). Notably, over the past three months, major donors—many from the crypto industry—have played a crucial role, with 18 donors contributing more than $5.5 million in Bitcoin and seven donors adding approximately $1.5 million in Ethereum.
Key Contributions
Prominent donations included:
- David Bailey, CEO of BTC Media Group, who donated $498,000.
- Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s legal chief, contributed $300,000 in XRP.
- Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, co-founders of Gemini, each gave $1.1 million.
Chase Herro, co-founder of the Trump family’s new crypto project, World Liberty Financial, also made a donation, as did Mike Belshe, CEO of crypto custodian BitGo, who contributed nearly $100,000 in Bitcoin.
Competition Among PACs
The Trump 47 PAC is not the only one attracting attention from the crypto sector. Bloomberg reported on October 16 that Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, founders of the crypto venture firm a16z, each donated $2.5 million to the pro-Trump super PAC Right For America. So far, Right For America has raised $38.6 million this election cycle, as reported by Open Secrets.
Support for Rival Candidates
In contrast, some crypto leaders have thrown their support behind Trump’s rival, Kamala Harris. For instance, Chris Larsen, Ripple co-founder, donated $1 million in XRP to the pro-Harris PAC Future Forward.
The Crypto Sector’s Growing Influence
The ongoing legal battle involving Ripple, which has been sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) since 2020, has not deterred contributions from the crypto industry. According to a report from the nonprofit watchdog group Public Citizen, nearly half of the corporate money flowing into election campaigns this cycle has originated from the crypto sector. Remarkably, the crypto industry has contributed about 13 times more this election cycle compared to the last presidential election.
The Role of Fairshake
Among the largest super PACs, the crypto sector’s Fairshake has raised over $200 million during this election cycle. A September filing indicated that Fairshake has spent nearly $7 million on media buys and production to support candidates, while allocating over $2 million to oppose incumbent Democrats.
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