According to a January 18 report from Politico, Ripple, Coinbase, Kraken, Circle, and Robinhood have collectively donated over $10 million to Trump’s inauguration fund. The crypto industry is consistently proving that it is serious about its allegiance to President Donald Trump.
The money will be used to cover elaborate inaugural events in Washington, D.C. The industry had already spent hundreds of millions of dollars on Trump’s campaign, with expectations of a crypto-friendly administration.
Trump, for his part, has already started to deliver on his promises. The entire crypto community now anxiously and excitedly waits for Monday. Some expect him to mention Bitcoin during his speech, but US culture tells us he likely won’t. Still, he’s doing quite enough.
Who’s paying, and how much?
Ripple, the infamous issuer of XRP, has committed $5 million worth of its native coin. CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty, who recently met Trump at Mar-a-Lago, have already been invited to the inauguration. They’ve gone from fighting court battles for years under president Biden to actually having a seat at the table.
Coinbase and Kraken, the two largest crypto exchanges in America, each donated $1 million. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has been in Washington since Election Day, and he’s met with Trump twice to discuss crypto-friendly reforms.
Circle, the company behind USDC, also pitched in $1 million. Robinhood, a favorite among retail traders, dropped $2 million. Ahead of his inauguration, Trump also launched a meme token on Solana. The OFFICIAL TRUMP (TRUMP) token has had an over 9,000% increase over the past 10 hours.
There shouldn’t be any question that Trump will desert the industry now. Expectations of a slew of crypto-friendly executive orders during his first 100 days are no longer unfounded.
And Big Tech, of course, is also making its presence known, as it tends to. Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft have each donated $1 million to the inauguration fund. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also made a personal $1 million donation.
Every single one of these companies has faced federal investigations and antitrust lawsuits under Biden, so they’re now seizing the chance to get closer to an administration that could change banking regulations entirely.
Meanwhile, the crypto community also threw one of the exclusive balls of the season. Yesterday night, the Crypto Inaugural Ball was held at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington.
Legendary rapper Snoop Dogg headlined the event, thanks to sponsorships from Stand With Crypto, Exodus, Anchorage Digital, and Kraken.
David Bailey, the man behind last summer’s Bitcoin conference where Trump made his promises, was behind the event.
Democrats are pushing back
But, of course, the other Party is bitter about the crypto industry’s cozy relationship with Trump. Senator Elizabeth Warren, crypto’s biggest hater in Congress, has been saying that Trump only likes crypto because he’s been paid to.
“Billionaires bought this government,” she told reporters on Thursday. She then went on X (formerly Twitter), to accuse Trump’s Treasury Secretary nominee, the pro-crypto Scott Bessent, of prioritizing tax cuts for the wealthy over raising the federal minimum wage.
Over the past four years at least, Elizabeth has done everything in her power to antagonize crypto companies. At some point, she even told Congress that crypto was the main reason for the spike in child sex trafficking. The accusation was so horrific and ludicrous that it brought her approval numbers down quickly.
Throughout Scott’s confirmation hearing, she grilled him on things she knew he would struggle with since he had no policy-making experience. Then, she wouldn’t let him finish explaining himself before she asked another. It was honestly very uncomfortable to watch.
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