Topline
A handful of billionaires with ties to the cryptocurrency industry have endorsed and donated to campaigns for former President Donald Trump—a former crypto critic whose family now operates a crypto platform—or Vice President Kamala Harris, as digital currency features as a growing factor ahead of Election Day.
During an appearance at a cryptocurrency conference earlier this year, Trump said he wanted the U.S. … [+]
Key Facts
Twins Tyler Winklevoss and Cameron Winklevoss—cofounders of the cryptocurrency exchange Gemini who are each worth $2.7 billion—said in June they had each donated about $1 million in bitcoin to support Trump’s campaign, with both brothers saying the Biden administration had “openly declared war against crypto,” and they have since reportedly donated a combined $10.1 million to political groups this cycle.
Ripple cofounder and chairman Chris Larsen (worth about $3.1 billion according to Forbes’ estimates) endorsed Harris last week after having donated $1.9 million to support Harris through PACs and her campaign directly, according to CNBC, and he recently said he would donate $10 million worth of XRP—Ripple’s cryptocurrency—“in support of her.”
Marc Andreessen ($1.8 billion), who runs the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz with Ben Horowitz, reportedly donated $2.5 million to Right For America, a super PAC supporting Trump’s campaign (Horowitz—who previously supported Trump—has since reversed his stance and said he would make a “significant” contribution to Harris’ campaign).
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban ($5.7 billion), who has invested in cryptocurrency projects at various points, has publicly supported Harris, though he has not donated to her campaign.
Tim Draper ($2 billion), a founding partner of the venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson, said last week he had donated “roughly equal amounts” to the Harris and Trump campaigns, saying he was “optimistic that either path will be a positive step” while endorsing both candidates.
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What Have Other Pro-Crypto Billionaires Said?
Coinbase cofounders Brian Armstrong ($9.2 billion) and Fred Ehrsam ($2.7 billion) were the only two billionaires who each donated a maximum of $6,000 to Sen. JD Vance’s, R-Ohio, 2028 reelection campaign before he was announced as Trump’s running mate, Forbes reported. Jed McCaleb ($2.9 billion), who helped launch the crypto firms Mt. Gox, Ripple and Stellar, donated to a PAC calling for President Joe Biden to leave the race, indicating he was “very disappointed” in the Democratic Party at the time, according to the Washington Post. Mike Novogratz ($2.5 billion), CEO of the crypto investment firm Galaxy Digital Holdings, also called on Biden to drop out. Michael Saylor ($5.8 billion), founder of the business analytics firm MicroStrategy and an early Bitcoin investor, said Trump had taken a “very pro-crypto stance” while Democrats were “drifting to the middle” in their views of crypto and bitcoin. In 2019, Changpeng Zhao ($61.1 billion)—the Binance founder who later pleaded guilty to money laundering charges—told CNBC Trump had “not done anything positive or negative” for crypto, after Trump said he was “not a fan” of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.
Tangent
Tesla CEO Elon Musk (worth $245.9 billion) donated about $75 million to a super PAC supporting Trump’s election bid—America PAC—last quarter, and has become an outspoken Trump backer. Musk has spoken favorably about crypto at various points, and his comments on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies often result in market shifts, including a 20% jump in the price of bitcoin after he added “#bitcoin” to his X bio in 2021, though he has previously expressed criticism. Musk announced in 2021 Tesla would no longer accept bitcoin as payment, saying he and the company were “concerned” about how bitcoin mining and transactions rely on fossil fuels while noting he believes “cryptocurrency is a good idea on many levels.”
Surprising Fact
Former crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried reportedly considered offering Trump $5 billion not to run for office. Author Michael Lewis said in his biography of Bankman-Fried, Going Infinite, the FTX founder had “somehow created a back channel to the Trump operation,” though it’s unclear why the deal didn’t pan out.
Key Background
Trump’s support of cryptocurrency has increased in the years since leaving the White House. In 2019, Trump said in a series of social posts he was not a fan of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, suggesting their values were “highly volatile and based on thin air.” During an interview with Fox News in 2021, Trump called bitcoin a “scam” and said he disliked the cryptocurrency because it’s “another currency competing against the dollar.” Since then, Trump has announced his support for bitcoin mining, called for the U.S. to become the “crypto capital of the planet” and has previously sold Trump-branded non-fungible tokens. About $3 million of his $6 billion fortune is invested in cryptocurrency as of Sept. 30, according to Forbes’ estimates. Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump launched the cryptocurrency platform World Liberty Financial earlier this month and the platform has stated the Trump family will receive 75% of its net revenue. Harris reportedly said during a fundraiser in September she plans to “encourage innovative technologies like AI and digital assets.” Brian Nelson, a senior campaign adviser for Harris, told Bloomberg Harris would support policies that ensure the cryptocurrency industry “can continue to grow.” However, some crypto industry figures have criticized the Biden administration for its stricter approach to regulating cryptocurrency.
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