Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald J. Trump holds a campaign rally at Van Andel Arena on July 20, 2024 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Bill Pugliano | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Nashville, Tenn. — Former President Donald Trump Heading to Tennessee this weekend to deliver a keynote address at a major Bitcoin conference. It looks like he’ll be appearing in front of a popular crowd.
Republican presidential candidate Trump has raised more than $4 million through a variety of digital tokens, a campaign aide told CNBC. Donors have donated Bitcoin, etherRipple Ripple token, a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar U.S. Department of Agriculture and various meme coins, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
The report, which is more than 1,000 pages long, shows the total fundraising amount of the “Trump 47” joint fundraising committee from April 1 to June 30. Payments will be made to the Trump campaign, the Republican National Committee and other political parties, according to the filing.
Documents show that at least 19 donors donated more than $2.15 million in Bitcoin to the committee. Contributors come from 12 states, including some battleground states. Their occupations include housewives, U.S. military officers, missionaries, painters, pizza company sales representatives and State Department security technicians.
Cryptocurrency billionaire twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss led the way, each donating 15.57 Bitcoin, or just over $1 million at the time of donation . Because their contributions exceeded the $844,600 limit, documents show the money was partially refunded. Mike Belshe, CEO of digital asset security company BitGo, donated $50,000 in Bitcoin.
Gemini Trust Co. CEO and Co-Founder Tyler Winklevoss (left) and Gemini Trust Co. President and Co-Founder Cameron Winklevoss speak at the Bitcoin 2021 Conference in Miami, Florida, USA, Friday, June 2021 .
Eva Marie Uzcategui | Bloomberg | Getty Images
In recent months, Trump has positioned himself as a pro-cryptocurrency presidential candidate, a reversal from his previous stance while in the White House. Trump launched his latest series of non-fungible tokens on the Solana blockchain in April and has since increasingly bullish Comments on Cryptocurrencies. Along the way, he gained support from many influential tech and crypto investors, including venture capitalist Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz.
Trump will deliver the keynote speech at a Bitcoin conference at Nashville’s Music City Center on Saturday. He will also host a campaign fundraiser in the city that day, with tickets priced at a whopping $844,600 per person.
Top-tier tickets include a seat at the roundtable with Trump and are priced at the maximum donation amount an individual is allowed to donate Trump47 Committee. The next level includes a photo with the former president for $60,000 per person and $100,000 per couple, according to the invitation.
Trump campaign aide Brian Hughes said most of the more than $4 million in cryptocurrencies raised was in Bitcoin.
“Cryptocurrency innovators and others in the technology space are under attack from Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party,” Hughes said, referring to the de facto Democratic candidate. “While the Biden-Harris administration stifles innovation through increased regulation and higher taxes, President Trump is ready to encourage American leadership in this and other emerging technologies.”
Trump, the first major presidential candidate Accept donations of digital tokenscan receive donations in a range of cryptocurrencies, including Dogecoin, Shiba Inucoin, XRP, USDC and Ethereum.
Kraken founder and former CEO Jesse Powell donated nearly $845,000 in ether. Stewart AlderottiChief Legal Officer ripple, donated $300,000 in XRP tokens. Aldrotti Recently attended Trump fundraiser hosted by venture capitalist David Sachs in San Francisco.
Former Messari CEO Ryan Selkis Resigned last week The company he co-founded after posting about the “real war” against Trump’s opponents donated $50,000 in USDC.
So far, the Trump campaign appears to be primarily converting these donations into USDC immediately and then liquidating them. However, in some cases, campaigns choose to keep USDC.
Trump has personally pledged to defend the rights of those who choose to self-custody their tokens, meaning they don’t rely on things like Coin Library Crypto wallets are used instead, but this is sometimes beyond the jurisdiction of the IRS.
Trump also vowed at the Libertarian Party’s national convention in Washington in May to keep Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren and “her thugs” away from Bitcoin holders. Warren is an outspoken critic of cryptocurrencies.
Meanwhile, after meeting at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida with more than a dozen Bitcoin mining executives who pledged their support, Trump announced If he returns to the White House, all future Bitcoins will be minted in the United States.
Trump named Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate, a move considered by many to be a victory for the cryptocurrency industry. Vance advocates deregulation of cryptocurrencies and in 2022 revealed his personal holdings Bitcoin.
The Biden administration has stepped up cryptocurrency regulation, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has stepped up its actions against the industry in recent years.
