The Winklevoss twins were refunded for exceeding legal Bitcoin donation limits to Trump’s campaign, per a Bloomberg report.
The Winklevoss twins, billionaire founders of cryptocurrency company Gemini, were reimbursed for an excess of bitcoin donations to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign that exceeded the federal law’s utmost limit.
The campaign official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter said that the portion above the legal limit was refunded to the donors, as reported by Bloomberg.
In posts on the social media platform X on Thursday, the brothers each disclosed that they had contributed $2 million in Bitcoin to the presumptive Republican nominee. This amount surpasses the legal limit of $844,600 that the Trump committee is permitted to accept per individual.
It is uncertain whether the Trump 47 Committee, which typically prioritizes larger contributors and accepted the Bitcoin donation, returned the sum in Bitcoin or converted it to its equivalent value in cash.
The former president’s campaign, the Republican National Committee, 42 GOP state party committees, and the leadership political action committee that pays his legal expenses are all recipients of the donated funds, according to the report.
The burgeoning relationship between Trump’s campaign and the crypto industry, a critical player in the 2024 election, is further emphasized by his approval of the Bitcoin donation. Candidates who pledge to enforce regulations less stringently are supported by investors and allies.
According to reports, the Winklevoss brothers participated in a fundraiser for Trump in June that reportedly cost up to $300,000 per individual.
Additionally, they have contributed approximately $5 million to the Fairshake political action committee and its affiliates, which have been responsible for the production of attack advertisements against lawmakers and the endorsement of specific Democratic and Republican candidates for office.
Many of the users of the Gemini crypto exchange, which the twins established, spent months attempting to retrieve the funds they had invested in Gemini Earn, a program that was jointly operated with the now-bankrupt Genesis to earn a yield on crypto assets.
Nevertheless, customers are now able to receive their Earn assets in their original form. Letitia James, the New York Attorney General, announced last week that she had successfully recovered approximately $50 million from Gemini on behalf of users who were “defrauded.”
As part of a settlement with the New York Department of Financial Services, Gemini agreed in February to return at least $1.1 billion to customers through the Genesis bankruptcy. Early last year, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against Gemini and Genesis regarding Gemini Earn. Genesis has entered into a settlement agreement.
