An overview of notable donors from the crypto industry supporting Trump's campaign

Author: Weilin, PANews

Recently, two major fundraising channels for Trump, the Super PACs Trump 47 Committee and America PAC, have submitted disclosure documents to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) regarding the acceptance of donations, revealing contributions from several leaders in the crypto industry or crypto supporters.

Data shows that from April 1 to June 30, the Winklevoss brothers, Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss, have made the largest donations to support Trump, contributing over $2.5 million. They are followed by Douglas Leone, a partner at Sequoia Capital, former PayPal executives, and co-founders of Kraken.

As the U.S. election approaches, Trump's fundraising efforts are intensifying. PANews has compiled a list of notable donors from the crypto industry supporting Trump's campaign based on publicly disclosed information.

Winklevoss Brothers (Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss)

Records from the FEC show that the founders of the crypto exchange Gemini and Winklevoss Capital Management, the Winklevoss brothers, have donated $2.027 million to the Trump 47 Committee in the form of BTC, but due to federal limits on individual contributions, $310,800 will be refunded.

Additionally, the Winklevoss brothers have each donated $250,000 to America PAC.

Sequoia Capital Partner Douglas Leone

Doug Leone led the venture capital firm Sequoia Capital as managing partner from 1996 to 2022, stepping down in 2022 but remaining a general partner. During his tenure, Leone led Sequoia's investments in technology companies including Medallia, Rackspace, RingCentral, ServiceNow, and Nubank.

On June 4, he stated, "I am increasingly concerned about the overall direction of our country, the broken immigration system, the ever-expanding deficit, and foreign policy missteps. Therefore, I support former President Trump in the upcoming election."

On June 14, he donated $1 million to America PAC.

Former Tesla Board Member, Valor Equity Partner, CEO Antonio Gracias

Antonio is the founder, CEO, and Chief Investment Officer of Valor. He founded Valor in 1995 and has over 25 years of experience in private equity investing. Antonio served on Tesla's board from 2007 to 2021.

On June 28, he donated $1 million to America PAC.

Co-founder of Palantir Technologies Joe Lonsdale

Joe Lonsdale is the founder and managing partner of 8VC, an early-stage venture capital firm managing over $6 billion in capital. In 2003, he founded Palantir Technologies (NYSE: PLTR), a global software company known for supporting U.S. and allied defense and intelligence efforts.

Lonsdale has previously stated that the combination of artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency could benefit both industries, indicating that Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana would benefit from it. On June 7, he donated $1 million to America PAC.

Co-founder of VC Firm Founders Fund Kenneth Howery

Kenneth Howery is an American entrepreneur and diplomat. He is a co-founder of PayPal and Founders Fund. From 2019 to 2021, he served as the U.S. Ambassador to Sweden under Trump.

This time, on June 20 and June 21, he donated $1 million to America PAC.

Co-founder of Crypto Exchange Kraken Jesse Powell

Jesse Powell, co-founder of the crypto exchange Kraken, began engaging with digital currency as early as 2001. Before becoming a crypto OG, he was the founder and CEO of Lewt, a company that provided account management and in-game currency services for players of Diablo II from 2001 to 2011. He is also the founder of Verge Gallery. Shortly after Bitcoin's emergence, Powell, who has a background in philosophy and advocates for libertarianism, quickly became a staunch supporter of cryptocurrency. He founded Kraken in 2011.

On June 28, he stated in a post on X, "I am excited to stand united with other leaders in our community to support the only major party candidate in the 2024 presidential election who supports cryptocurrency, so that America can continue to lead in blockchain technology." On June 28, he donated ETH worth $845,000.

Sequoia Capital Investor Shaun Maguire

Shaun Maguire is a partner at Sequoia Capital. Previously, he co-founded Expanse, which was acquired by Palo Alto Networks for $800 million. He was also a partner at GV.

On May 31, just minutes after the verdict of "guilty" was announced in Trump's hush money case, Shaun Maguire announced a donation of $300,000 to Trump, citing the trial as unfair. Maguire published a lengthy post on X outlining a series of reasons for supporting Trump, including the Biden administration's handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and "weakness" in the Middle East.

Maguire added that the various legal lawsuits against Trump are also a "radicalizing experience." "President Trump could indeed be convicted of a felony and sent to prison," he wrote. "Frankly, that's part of why I support him. I believe our judicial system is being weaponized against him."

Later, on June 18, he donated $500,000 to America PAC.

Chief Legal Officer of Ripple Stuart Alderoty

Stuart Alderoty is the Chief Legal Officer of Ripple, overseeing the legal, compliance, and regulatory departments. Stuart has over 30 years of legal experience with expertise in financial services and regulatory affairs.

On June 11, Stuart Alderoty donated $300,000 to the Trump 47 Committee in the form of XRP.

CEO of BitGo Michael Belshe

Mike Belshe is an American computer scientist and entrepreneur. He is the co-founder and CEO of BitGo, Inc. and co-founder of Lookout Software in 2004. He is a co-inventor of the SPDY protocol and one of the principal authors of the HTTP/2.0 specification.

On June 4, he donated $50,000 to the Trump 47 Committee in the form of BTC.

CEO of Messari Ryan Selkis

Ryan Selkis is the founder and CEO of Messari and a founding team member of Digital Currency Group and CoinDesk. Ryan Selkis is also involved in venture capital and angel investing.

On May 8, Ryan was invited to speak at an NFT gala hosted by Trump. On June 3, Ryan donated $50,000 worth of USDC to the Trump 47 Committee.