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Winklevoss Twins Donate $1M in Bitcoin to Senator Warren’s Pro-Crypto Challenger
Commodity Futures Trading Commissioner Caroline Pham outlines “the first order of business” for creating a regulatory framework around cryptocurrencies.
Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, the Facebook-famous entrepreneurial duo and founders of Gemini cryptocurrency announced Thursday a $500,000 donation in bitcoin to a super PAC supporting John Deaton, a pro-crypto lawyer aiming to end the 12-year reign of Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Last month, crypto bros announced a $2 million bitcoin donation to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to help end what he called the Biden administration’s “war on cryptocurrency.”
The latest donations will go to the Commonwealth Unity Fund, a new “super” political action fund created to replace cryptocurrency critic Warren with Deaton. Under super PAC rules, the funds will not directly benefit Deaton’s campaign but will be used independently to support his candidacy through ad campaigns.
The news comes just days after cryptocurrency firm Ripple reported donated $1 million to the Commonwealth Unity Fund in support of Deaton.
Woburn, MA – April 12: Republican U.S. Senate candidate John Deaton poses for a portrait. (Photo by Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) (Getty Images / Getty Images)
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“I am extremely grateful to Ripple management and Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss for their support of the Commonwealth Unity Fund,” the PAC’s chief fundraiser, James Murphy, said in a statement to FOX Business. “I think they are helping to open people’s eyes to the reality that John Deaton can absolutely win in November.”
Deaton declined to comment because, under federal election law, a candidate must maintain a so-called “Chinese Wall” of legal separation from supporting super PACs.
Both Winklevoss brothers posted about the donation to Deaton on their X accounts, with Tyler attacking Warren as bad for business and cryptocurrency, while praising Deaton for supporting her.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, speaks during a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing in Washington, DC, U.S., Thursday, March 7, 2024. Strong inflation and January hiring data did not change the federal R rate. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
“Elizabeth Warren is one of the greatest threats to American prosperity. When it comes to cryptocurrencies, she is public enemy number one,” Tyler Winklevoss said in a send on her X account, calling her the chief architect of the Biden administration’s war on cryptocurrencies.
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Cameron, on his account, said: “John Deaton is pro-Bitcoin, pro-crypto, pro-business and will end Elizabeth Warren’s war on cryptocurrencies. Go!”
A publicist for Warren did not respond to a request for comment.
In Thursday’s post endorsing Deaton, Tyler Winklevoss described Warren’s so-called “army,” which includes Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler and Martin Gruenberg, chairman of the FDIC, refer to both as “lap dogs and attack dogs” who use the power of their agencies to advance Warren’s policies.
Representatives from the SEC and FDIC press offices did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Gensler’s crackdown on the $2 trillion cryptocurrency industry has been personally felt by the Winklevoss twins. Last year, the SEC sued Gemini for allegedly violating securities laws by offering crypto tokens through its lending platform. The lawsuit is one of several against big players in the industry like Coinbase, Kraken, and Ripple. Banking regulators like the FDIC and the Federal Reserve have barred banks from doing business with cryptocurrency companies because they say there are significant risks involved in dealing with digital assets.
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Meanwhile, Warren herself has introduced a bill that would attempt to restrict cryptocurrencies and the blockchain technology they run from being used for terrorist or illicit finance purposes. The cryptocurrency industry sees the bill as a threat to the sector’s growth in the United States, fearing that stifling regulation would force cryptocurrency firms to relocate overseas.
Despite her unpopularity among the crypto crowd, Warren is still favored to win in November. An influential progressive with the ear of the Biden administration, Warren has the support of many in the blue state of Massachusetts.
Deaton doesn’t even have the GOP nomination to run against Warren. He has at least two challengers: Ian Cain, a newly registered Republican and Massachusetts city councilman, and Robert Antonellis, an engineer and University of Massachusetts Amherst graduate, according to his campaign website.
NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 11: (L to R) Entrepreneurs Tyler Winklevoss and Cameron Winklevoss discuss bitcoin with Maria Bartiromo during FOX Business’ “Wall Street Week” at FOX Studios on December 11, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/ ((Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images) / Getty Images)
Cain, who is also pro-cryptorecently received the support of pro-bitcoin Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming), who said that Cain “understands the digital economy.”
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Warren will find out who her official challenger will be after the Massachusetts state primary on September 3.