Winklevoss "Gemini" twins donate $2m to support Trump

[mv1986]

It's official. The Gemini exchange founders (the Winklevoss twins) have donated $2 million (USD) to help support Trump's campaign. Read all about it here: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/gemini-founders-donate-1-mln-bitcoin-trump-2024-06-20/

I guess the crypto industry now views Trump as the ideal presidental candidate to help spur its growth across America. If everyone unites, Biden won't stand a chance in getting re-elected as President of the United States. The "heavy-handed" regulations towards the crypto/Blockchain industry might've angered industry players against Biden and his Democratic Party. Could Trump's support of Bitcoin be enough to propel him to the White House? Only time will tell.

What do you think about this donation? Will it make a huge difference on Trump's re-election campaign? If not, why? Your input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

I think this goes too far. As far as I have been following things that Trump said, he has mentioned crypto a couple of times for strategic reasons to gain some more votes as it could become very close, but I believe that many of the Bitcoin people are still skeptical whether he will fully stand behind the Bitcoin industry once he gets elected. I am not convinced to be honest. There wasn't all that much talk about it from his side. He just brought it up a couple of times, but more like a side topic.

The donation itself, well it could be meant in a manipulative way that Trump now makes very clear statements about Bitcoin and its future in the United States. He may think that more money might flow in for his election campaign. We will see how Trump will either honor this donation or just leave it as it is.

By the way, in a couple of days there is the first TV duel between Trump and Biden. I wonder if the topic will be brought up there.

[pooya87]

What do you think the twin will ask from Trump once he wins? It seems to work that way in politics, they won't just give some thing without expecting in return. I think the more crypto big names donate to Trump, the more he will have a huge debt to repay the crypto community.

If Larry Pink will donate more to Trump, then Larry may have all the favors and god knows what the guy will ask from Trump.

It's difficult to say, all these things happen behind the scene. They may just want some lobbying power in the future for a lot of things that may not even be related to cryptocurrencies. But they definitely want something in return which is why I wouldn't use the term "donation" to describe such payments of this scale by such people.

[mindrust]

You KNOW Trump will win? I think that he lost a lot of votes by being convicted. That's why they announced it just months before the elections.
There's no good choice for Americans, to be honest. It's either a puppet who can't even read from the prompter, or the "grab 'em by the pussy" convict.

He became a convict in a demrat court means nothing to his voters as far as I see. In fact, many demrats became trump supporters after he became a convict(!) so demrats actually shoot themselves in the foot by messing with trump in court. You have no idea how these things work.

It was a blessing for trump now he is a hero. That conviction thing added another 2-3% points to him probably.

[Darker45]

To give money to presidentiables has always been a thing for rich businessmen. It's always an excellent investment. To a certain extent, it's grease money. To a certain extent, it's protection money. As always, this isn't just a donation. It's for buying something.

While some are saying that this is a Bitcoin election, I don't think so. A presidentiable's stand on Bitcoin is not enough to make him win or lose the presidency. Surely, Bitcoin isn't the heaviest issue among voters right now.

[Maus0728]

To give money to presidentiables has always been a thing for rich businessmen. It's always an excellent investment. To a certain extent, it's grease money. To a certain extent, it's protection money. As always, this isn't just a donation. It's for buying something.

While some are saying that this is a Bitcoin election, I don't think so. A presidentiable's stand on Bitcoin is not enough to make him win or lose the presidency. Surely, Bitcoin isn't the heaviest issue among voters right now.

It's not an outright gift though as that can be considered bribery, although it's bribery, they like to call these bribes as gifts or donations so it doesn't tick the boxes of the bribery laws in the US. Totally agree with you though that this isn't a bitcoin election, I don't think that it's ever going to be like that anytime soon, I'm sure that bitcoin will probably be just a footnote once those that are trying to be elected wins the election, like any other politicians out there, they're probably going to focus more on the stuff that would matter for them the most like a legacy or a policy that would keep their influence intact.

[fuguebtc]

It's official. The Gemini exchange founders (the Winklevoss twins) have donated $2 million (USD) to help support Trump's campaign. Read all about it here: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/gemini-founders-donate-1-mln-bitcoin-trump-2024-06-20/

I guess the crypto industry now views Trump as the ideal presidental candidate to help spur its growth across America. If everyone unites, Biden won't stand a chance in getting re-elected as President of the United States. The "heavy-handed" regulations towards the crypto/Blockchain industry might've angered industry players against Biden and his Democratic Party. Could Trump's support of Bitcoin be enough to propel him to the White House? Only time will tell.

What do you think about this donation? Will it make a huge difference on Trump's re-election campaign? If not, why? Your input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

I think this goes too far. As far as I have been following things that Trump said, he has mentioned crypto a couple of times for strategic reasons to gain some more votes as it could become very close, but I believe that many of the Bitcoin people are still skeptical whether he will fully stand behind the Bitcoin industry once he gets elected. I am not convinced to be honest. There wasn't all that much talk about it from his side. He just brought it up a couple of times, but more like a side topic.

The donation itself, well it could be meant in a manipulative way that Trump now makes very clear statements about Bitcoin and its future in the United States. He may think that more money might flow in for his election campaign. We will see how Trump will either honor this donation or just leave it as it is.

By the way, in a couple of days there is the first TV duel between Trump and Biden. I wonder if the topic will be brought up there.

I agree with you that Mr. Trump only mentioned supporting cryptocurrency in a few statements, he never spent much time seriously discussing it. But we also need to know that the cryptocurrency industry is still not a field with a large number of participants, or plays an important role in the economy of a country like the US. It is just an emerging trend and is gradually becoming popular. It cannot be more important than other issues such as promoting the economy, immigration, war...other painful problems in society. So we don't need to be too picky about why he doesn't hold any dedicated discussions on cryptocurrencies.

I feel that Mr. Trump's strategy is to attract and win the trust of minority voters in society, and cryptocurrency is one of them. Just because we are crypto investors we feel dissatisfied but for other voters, they care about other things rather than focusing on crypto like us.

[alexforneus]

It's really strange for me why there are some pro crypto people that don't support him

[Lucius]

I don't know that anyone believes that the former US president will end up in prison, especially since he is a presidential candidate, which complicates the situation significantly.

It shouldn't.  Preferential treatment makes the justice system a joke.  Any non-celebrity would absolutely go to jail for breaking that many laws.  It's a disgusting double standard if they treat him any differently. 
The US still wants to portray itself as "leader of the free world", yet it's fully prepared to be this corrupt?  Words can't condemn strongly enough.

To us, who are looking at all this from outside the US, it all looks like a very bad combination of hypocrisy, sick obsession and delusion among American voters. I don't see how people can even look at themselves in the mirror if they choose one of the two options offered - because both are disastrous in every sense.

It is more than obvious that the only thing that has absolute power in that country is only money, which can buy you a medical certificate that you are healthy while you are obviously demented and lost in space and time - or on the other hand, you can launch a coup d'état, cheat on taxes, paying prostitutes for silence and who knows what else and that people prefer you because of that.

It's not strange to me that there are people like Biden or Trump in that country, but there are obviously hundreds of millions of them who live in a really strange world that is hard to explain to us who don't live there.

[mv1986]

~

I think this goes too far. As far as I have been following things that Trump said, he has mentioned crypto a couple of times for strategic reasons to gain some more votes as it could become very close, but I believe that many of the Bitcoin people are still skeptical whether he will fully stand behind the Bitcoin industry once he gets elected. I am not convinced to be honest. There wasn't all that much talk about it from his side. He just brought it up a couple of times, but more like a side topic.

The donation itself, well it could be meant in a manipulative way that Trump now makes very clear statements about Bitcoin and its future in the United States. He may think that more money might flow in for his election campaign. We will see how Trump will either honor this donation or just leave it as it is.

By the way, in a couple of days there is the first TV duel between Trump and Biden. I wonder if the topic will be brought up there.

I agree with you that Mr. Trump only mentioned supporting cryptocurrency in a few statements, he never spent much time seriously discussing it. But we also need to know that the cryptocurrency industry is still not a field with a large number of participants, or plays an important role in the economy of a country like the US. It is just an emerging trend and is gradually becoming popular. It cannot be more important than other issues such as promoting the economy, immigration, war...other painful problems in society. So we don't need to be too picky about why he doesn't hold any dedicated discussions on cryptocurrencies.

I feel that Mr. Trump's strategy is to attract and win the trust of minority voters in society, and cryptocurrency is one of them. Just because we are crypto investors we feel dissatisfied but for other voters, they care about other things rather than focusing on crypto like us.

While I don't know how serious this source is, it does state that:

Cryptocurrency awareness and ownership rates have increased to record levels: 40% of American adults now own crypto, up from 30% in 2023. This could be as many as 93 million people.

Now this is mostly discussing ownership and there is of course much more to Bitcoin than that, like the infrastructure and especially the mining industry, but I guess there is a good number of people that would like a president with a favorable stance on Bitcoin. Given how close the last election was between Trump and Biden, I wouldn't underestimate the effect of getting Bitcoin people on board. But in order for that to happen, I think Trump's stance so far has been too weak and it doesn't make the impression that he is ultimately serious about it.

This could still change though in the next few months. But I wouldn't be shocked if Biden loosens his position a bit to somewhat neutralize Trump's position. At least in terms of communication. As far as I know the Biden administration was trying to pass some laws that were clearly against it. 

[atookz]

I also just heard the news, one form of support for presidential candidate Donald Trump because in his campaign if elected he will support the development of crypto. But from the news that the donation exceeded the individual limit allowed by federal law which is $ 844,600 so each will be returned about $ 155,400. This highlights the former president's growing support from the cryptocurrency community, as his campaign's acceptance of Bitcoin donations reflects his favorable views on crypto.

[stompix]

Gee, a couple crooks donate to a CONVICTED criminal. Why am I not surprised....

Probably trying to avoid in the future having to pay another 1 billion in damages like in their last Gemini-Genesis screw-up?
But they donated 2 million for crypto, for Trump....much wow, such nice guys, vote now wow!

Where were all those supporters when Trump signed the new taxes on bitcoin mining equipment driving up the price, and now he comes and promises all coins will be mined in the US...
I would almost like to have Trump winning just to see 3 years from now the faces of all the crypto users that voted for him in dismay as he will shit on every single promise he has made.

[DooMAD]

To us, who are looking at all this from outside the US, it all looks like a very bad combination of hypocrisy, sick obsession and delusion among American voters. I don't see how people can even look at themselves in the mirror if they choose one of the two options offered - because both are disastrous in every sense.

It is more than obvious that the only thing that has absolute power in that country is only money, which can buy you a medical certificate that you are healthy while you are obviously demented and lost in space and time - or on the other hand, you can launch a coup d'état, cheat on taxes, paying prostitutes for silence and who knows what else and that people prefer you because of that.

It's not strange to me that there are people like Biden or Trump in that country, but there are obviously hundreds of millions of them who live in a really strange world that is hard to explain to us who don't live there.

They pledge allegiance to the brainwashed cult of The United Cesspit of America.  One nation under a make-believe deity.  Corruption and Injustice for all.

The rest of the world will no longer recognise it as a sovereign nation, merely as a crime syndicate.

[ginsan]

To give money to presidentiables has always been a thing for rich businessmen. It's always an excellent investment. To a certain extent, it's grease money. To a certain extent, it's protection money. As always, this isn't just a donation. It's for buying something.

While some are saying that this is a Bitcoin election, I don't think so. A presidentiable's stand on Bitcoin is not enough to make him win or lose the presidency. Surely, Bitcoin isn't the heaviest issue among voters right now.

There are always behind the scenes transactions in between, I always notice that in the political space, the twins may have agreed on something with trump if he is elected will get the things he wants, because if you think about it it is impossible to give selflessly just because Trump supports bitcoin, I think there are still many questions that need to be asked about this.

Today Bitcoin is being spun as a political issue between Biden and Trump's fight, it's really very sad, maybe Trump learned from the elected presidents of El Salvador and Argentina who won their elections because they used bitcoin in their campaigns.

[sunsilk]

Are we going to see the next big thing in exchanges? I'm starting to get scared when these exchanges show who they are working with or trying to support for a cause.

I just remembered how SBF had some exposures like this from the politicians. But I guess every rich person has their own political bet and it's always a hot thing when it's approaching.

5 months from now, we'd see more of these supports from the two front runners.

[Darker45]

To give money to presidentiables has always been a thing for rich businessmen. It's always an excellent investment. To a certain extent, it's grease money. To a certain extent, it's protection money. As always, this isn't just a donation. It's for buying something.

While some are saying that this is a Bitcoin election, I don't think so. A presidentiable's stand on Bitcoin is not enough to make him win or lose the presidency. Surely, Bitcoin isn't the heaviest issue among voters right now.

There are always behind the scenes transactions in between, I always notice that in the political space, the twins may have agreed on something with trump if he is elected will get the things he wants, because if you think about it it is impossible to give selflessly just because Trump supports bitcoin, I think there are still many questions that need to be asked about this.

Today Bitcoin is being spun as a political issue between Biden and Trump's fight, it's really very sad, maybe Trump learned from the elected presidents of El Salvador and Argentina who won their elections because they used bitcoin in their campaigns.

I'm not sure how the rich and powerful in your country do their thing there but-- although I haven't been one of them-- I guess how they do it here is to appear to donate willingly and without expecting anything in return. The rich and powerful and the politicians know how to read between the lines. So, it's either the politician takes note of this when he wins or the rich donor comes to him some time in the future for something that needs the most powerful intervention.

Anyway, Nayib Bukele and Javier Milei didn't win because "they used bitcoin in their campaigns." Both the populist Bukele and the eccentric Milei didn't earn their popularity by supporting Bitcoin. They would have won just the same even without mentioning Bitcoin. It's only the Bitcoin supporters, especially the Bitcoin-centered publications, who exaggerated the role of Bitcoin. Bitcoin wasn't a hot issue in 2019 when Nayib won his first term in El Salvador. Neither was it a big deal when Milei got the presidency in December of 2023.

[Marvell1]

Anyway, Nayib Bukele and Javier Milei didn't win because "they used bitcoin in their campaigns." Both the populist Bukele and the eccentric Milei didn't earn their popularity by supporting Bitcoin. They would have won just the same even without mentioning Bitcoin. It's only the Bitcoin supporters, especially the Bitcoin-centered publications, who exaggerated the role of Bitcoin. Bitcoin wasn't a hot issue in 2019 when Nayib won his first term in El Salvador. Neither was it a big deal when Milei got the presidency in December of 2023.

Although I am a bitcoin investor and always interested in any news related to it, I have to agree with you that bitcoin is not a hot topic during the election campaigns. The popularity of bitcoin and the number of people using it are increasing, but that does not mean it is the center of attention in the world.

The role of bitcoin in the world economy has not yet had a significant impact, while to be able to become president, politicians need to ensure the country's security and economic development. And to do that, there need to be thousands of factors related to foreign economics, import and export, economic and monetary policy...bitcoin has never been a hot spot and can play a key role in ensuring a developed economy. We need to accept that reality, it is not yet time for bitcoin to become the focus of the world economy.

[wxa7115]

It's official. The Gemini exchange founders (the Winklevoss twins) have donated $2 million (USD) to help support Trump's campaign. Read all about it here: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/gemini-founders-donate-1-mln-bitcoin-trump-2024-06-20/

I guess the crypto industry now views Trump as the ideal presidental candidate to help spur its growth across America. If everyone unites, Biden won't stand a chance in getting re-elected as President of the United States. The "heavy-handed" regulations towards the crypto/Blockchain industry might've angered industry players against Biden and his Democratic Party. Could Trump's support of Bitcoin be enough to propel him to the White House? Only time will tell.

What do you think about this donation? Will it make a huge difference on Trump's re-election campaign? If not, why? Your input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

The money is nowhere near as important as the message that it sends, Biden was taking a strong posture against bitcoin and altcoins, the issue with this is that the US has a lot of bitcoin holders and many of them are young which do not hold any kind of loyalty to either party.

So Trump played his cards right and took a softer stance, and that alone could earn him enough votes to win the upcoming presidential election, now it would not surprise me if Biden realized this and changed his stance, but  I do not know how many voters will actually change their vote if he does this.

[GreatArkansas]

(....)
What do you think about this donation? Will it make a huge difference on Trump's re-election campaign? If not, why? Your input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

That's their own opinion and vision, we can take Sam Bankman Fried who also donated to the election campaign of Biden.
I am not really familiar with the politics of the USA especially the presidential. What I am only afraid if these donations will have connection to some market manipulate especially in cryptocurrency, but if all will be good and no manipulation or illegal things, it's all good.

[Kelward]

I believe that Trump's decision to support the crypto industry is a logical and positive step in his campaign. At the moment, people are greatly concerned about this issue and the actions of the current administration have caused fears among the public, which could affect the election results.

Trump, is leveraging on the rising popularity of Bitcoin to gain more votes in the coming election, he knows that the number of Americans that are into cryptocurrency is increasing. So it doesn't really matter what his personal stance is on cryptocurrency, what matters at this time is to align with what will give him votes and that is being crypto friendly. The brothers donation is a boost to getting votes from the crypto community in America, if more notable bitcoiners will be openly giving him support, I'm sure that it'll be an edge for him against Biden, that has clearly shown lack of support to the growth of Bitcoin and the rest of the cryptocurrencies in America..

[Casdinyard]

It's official. The Gemini exchange founders (the Winklevoss twins) have donated $2 million (USD) to help support Trump's campaign. Read all about it here: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/gemini-founders-donate-1-mln-bitcoin-trump-2024-06-20/

I guess the crypto industry now views Trump as the ideal presidental candidate to help spur its growth across America. If everyone unites, Biden won't stand a chance in getting re-elected as President of the United States. The "heavy-handed" regulations towards the crypto/Blockchain industry might've angered industry players against Biden and his Democratic Party. Could Trump's support of Bitcoin be enough to propel him to the White House? Only time will tell.

What do you think about this donation? Will it make a huge difference on Trump's re-election campaign? If not, why? Your input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

Here's the thing, besides Saylor, I don't trust any "KOL" on the crypto industry anymore, cause after Elon, CZ, SBF, and other motherfuckers out there, a pattern emerges where most of these clowns will either shill coins they themselves made, or in support of, so they can fill their bags up, and then fuck off when shit hits the fan and the market crashes, SBF did something even worse but that's besides the point. The Winklevoss Twins can be great and all that but I'm not gonna be swayed into buying nor spreading the word about crypto via word of mouth just cause they are advertising some convicted felon who was once against bitcoin and crypto, mind you.

He's doing everything he can cause he knows getting into the presidential seat is his only ticket to freedom at this point. The moment he loses this election, he's getting in the clinked getting his ass shined by other inmates. Don't be stupid and see how shit is really looking like.