Bloomberg: Crypto giants among top donors to Trump’s inaugural committee

President Donald Trump’s inaugural committee has seen a surge in donations, with millions of dollars pouring in from firms within the cryptocurrency industry, a sector that has been receiving increased attention from the Trump administration.

According to recent disclosures filed with the Senate Office of Public Records, major cryptocurrency firms such as Coinbase Inc., Crypto.com, Galaxy Digital, Paradigm Operations, and Payward Inc. (better known as Kraken) each donated $1 million to the committee, Caliber.Az reports referring to Bloomberg.

Robinhood Markets, Inc., a trading platform for digital currencies, contributed $2 million.

While Trump initially expressed scepticism about cryptocurrency, he later embraced the industry, both as an investor and as a political fundraising avenue. Notable donors to his campaign and super PACs included venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, as well as billionaire twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss.

Upon taking office, Trump made his commitment to the digital financial technology sector clear, tapping venture capitalist David Sacks as his "crypto czar" to lead a task force aimed at promoting US digital finance. The task force, which consists of top cabinet officials, is expected to explore regulatory reforms and the creation of a US digital asset stockpile.

Trump’s fundraising efforts have surpassed expectations, with total contributions expected to exceed the $107 million raised for his 2017 inauguration. Donations also came from other industries anticipating favourable policies under Trump’s leadership.

For example, Chevron Corp. contributed $2 million, a significant increase from its $525,000 donation in 2017. Oklo Inc., a company involved in nuclear fission reactors, donated $250,000, while Trump’s pick for the Energy Department, Chris Wright, was a member of Oklo’s board.

Renewable energy companies, despite Trump’s controversial policies on wind power, also participated in the fundraising. Hanwha Q Cells America Inc., a subsidiary of a German solar panel maker, and GE Vernova, a General Electric spinoff, each contributed $500,000. The American Clean Power Association, a trade group for the renewable energy industry, donated $100,000.

During his first week in office, Trump issued several executive orders, including one freezing permits for new offshore wind power installations, dealing a significant blow to the industry. At the same time, he invoked emergency powers to boost domestic energy production.

Trump’s inaugural committee also saw an influx of donations from companies that had not contributed in 2017. Among the new donors were Amazon.com Inc., Meta Platforms Inc., and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., each of which donated $1 million. Healthcare companies, such as Bayer Corporation and Johnson & Johnson, also joined the list of new contributors, with each giving $1 million.

The disclosures provide a partial look at the influential companies that financially backed Trump’s return to Washington. While organizations with in-house lobbyists must semiannually report their political contributions, the full list of donors will not be publicly available until April 19, when the inaugural committee submits its report to the Federal Election Commission.

By Tamilla Hasanova