Bitcoin
Winklevoss twins donate $2 million in bitcoin to support Trump
(Reuters) -The billionaire Winklevoss twins, founders of cryptocurrency company Gemini, said on Thursday they have donated $1 million each in bitcoin to support Donald Trump, the latest cryptocurrency executive to support the Republican presidential candidate.
Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, whose crypto firm in February entered into settlement agreements with U.S. and New York financial regulators following allegations of wrongdoing, announced the donations in posts on the social media site X.
They did not specify where the donations were sent.
Tyler Winklevoss posted that President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration had “openly declared war on crypto” and that Trump was “pro-Bitcoin, pro-crypto, and pro-business.”
Trump has portrayed himself as a supporter of cryptography, including at a fundraiser in San Francisco this month with technology executives, during which he criticized Democrats’ attempts to regulate the crypto sector.
The crypto industry is increasingly trying to influence US politicians as it faces increasing scrutiny from regulators, especially as the bankruptcies of major crypto companies in 2022 have scared investors, exposed fraud and misconduct, and left millions of investors out of pocket.
In February, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) said Gemini would return at least $1.1 billion to customers of its beleaguered loan program due to a third-party bankruptcy and pay a $37 million fine. for unsafe and harmful practices as part of an agreement with the regulator.
Gemini also settled a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit that it engaged in alleged unsafe and harmful practices for $21 million in February without admitting or denying wrongdoing in the deal.
The Winklevoss twins rose to fame after they sued Facebook and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, claiming he stole their idea for the social networking site. They agreed to a settlement in 2008 in which they received money and shares of Facebook.
The Biden administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Pritam Biswas, Alexandra Ulmer and Hannah Lang; Editing by Alan Barona and Jamie Freed)