Winklevoss Twins Donate $10M to Trump PAC After Regulatory Relief
Gemini co-founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss liquidated over $10 million in Bitcoin to fund a pro-Trump super PAC, underscoring the crypto industry's strategic financial pivot following a stark shift in US regulatory enforcement.
Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss have donated more than $10 million to the pro-Trump super PAC MAGA Inc. after liquidating Bitcoin to fund the contribution. A Tuesday filing shows the Gemini co-founders each gave over $5 million in cash to the political action committee, which has raised over $400 million ahead of November’s midterm elections.
The contribution arrives exactly one month after the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission asked a judge to vacate a $5 million penalty against Gemini. Under the previous administration, regulators cracked down heavily on crypto exchanges, including Gemini. Since President Donald Trump took office, however, authorities have scrapped a number of those lawsuits. For market participants, the donation underscores how closely crypto valuations and corporate legal risk are now tied to political outcomes in Washington.
Gemini itself is attempting a turnaround following severe turbulence. The exchange’s stock price had fallen more than 89% from its IPO high amid layoffs, executive departures, and shareholder lawsuits. That downward spiral was partly offset by a CFTC derivatives license granted in April. Shares jumped over 20% in after-hours trading in May after the Winklevoss twins announced a $100 million Bitcoin-funded investment in their own company.
Political capital
That May rally accompanied first-quarter earnings showing 42% year-over-year revenue growth and a narrowed net loss of $109 million. The improved bottom line was driven by higher services and credit card revenue, even as trading volumes fell from a year earlier following Bitcoin’s decline from its October peak.
The twins, early Bitcoin backers who founded Gemini in 2014, are widely speculated to hold some of the largest individual caches of the cryptocurrency. They have aggressively positioned themselves as allies to the current administration. Back in 2024, they donated 30.94 Bitcoin—valued at over $2 million at the time—to Trump’s campaign to halt what they called the Biden Administration’s “war on crypto.”
“President Donald J. Trump is the pro-Bitcoin, pro-crypto, and pro-business choice,” Tyler Winklevoss said in 2024. “This is not even remotely open for debate. Anyone who tells you otherwise is severely misinformed, delusional, or not telling the truth.”
By converting Bitcoin into cash for direct political spending, the founders are signaling that regulatory relief remains a top priority for their exchange. Investors in the crypto sector will be watching whether this alignment continues to translate into favorable legal outcomes and a more permissive operating environment.
