Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, the billionaire twins behind the cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, made headlines with their substantial donations to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, only to receive partial refunds due to legal limits on donation amounts, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.
On Thursday, the Winklevoss brothers announced via X, formerly known as Twitter, that they had each donated $1 million in Bitcoin (15.47 BTC) to the Trump campaign. However, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) imposes a maximum donation limit of $844,600 per person to any single campaign committee. Consequently, the donations exceeded this legal cap, prompting the Trump campaign to refund the excess amount to the brothers. It remains unclear whether the refunds were issued in Bitcoin or cash.
Tyler Winklevoss took to social media to explain their hefty contributions, emphasizing Trump’s favourable stance towards Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. He criticized the Biden administration, alleging that it had “declared war against crypto” and accusing it of using government agencies to target and undermine the cryptocurrency industry.
“President Donald J. Trump is the pro-Bitcoin, pro-crypto, and pro-business choice,”
Tyler stated in his post on X.
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The donations came on the heels of Trump’s recent efforts to position himself as a strong advocate for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. At a fundraiser in San Francisco, Trump lambasted the Democratic push for increased regulation of the sector. Brian Hughes, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, echoed this sentiment, telling Bloomberg News that “crypto innovators and others in the technology sector are under attack from Biden and Democrats,” while asserting that Trump is prepared to champion American leadership in emerging technologies.
Trump’s stance on Bitcoin has evolved over time. During his presidency from 2017 to 2021, he frequently criticized cryptocurrencies. In a 2019 tweet, Trump expressed his disdain, stating,
“I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air.”
He further suggested that unregulated crypto assets could facilitate illegal activities. However, the tweet has since been deleted, and Trump’s recent actions and statements indicate a significant shift towards embracing Bitcoin.
This notable donation by the Winklevoss twins and Trump’s evolving perspective on Bitcoin highlight the growing influence of cryptocurrency in political and economic spheres, setting the stage for an intriguing intersection of finance and politics as the campaign progresses.
