Donald Trump and the US presidential elections were already on track to be hot topics in 2024 but the addition of crypto to the mix has made things even more interesting. A few weeks ago, the former president made history when he became the first US presidential candidate to accept crypto for campaign donations.
Since then, he has worked to establish himself as the candidate of the crypto industry and has tried to forge alliances with leaders in the space. But, as seen by the recent incident with the Winklevoss twins, it is easier said than done.
The Winklevoss Twins Show Their Support
Rumours first began swirling of the Winklevoss Twins Tyler and Cameron supporting Trump weeks ago when they attended one of his fundraising events. During that event, Trump criticized the current administration for how it has treated the crypto industry and said that if re-elected, he would advocate for it.
Crypto has become much more popular in the last year, with many users investing in tokens or using them domestically like on a crypto casino. Consumers can even opt for an anonymous casino if they so desire. Added to this, a growing number of well-known retailers are beginning to accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Needless to say, there is an incentive for politicians to embrace crypto.
A while after the fundraiser, the Winklevoss twins, who founded the crypto exchange Gemini, publicly endorsed Trump for president and announced that they would donate 15.47 BTC (worth a million dollars) each to his campaign. The move, which saw mixed responses, is perhaps one of the most significant moves of support made by major crypto figures.
But only a few days after it was made, a report from Bloomberg states that it was returned. This was not due to Trump wanting to rebuff their efforts but was based on a technicality. According to federal law, a political campaign is allowed a maximum donation of $844,600 per donor. By donating digital assets worth a million dollars, the Winklevoss twins went over this limit and thus, the Trump campaign had to refund them.
As of this article, the Winklevoss twins haven’t commented on the development.
The Complexities of Crypto Campaigns
When Donald Trump announced his decision to accept crypto, it was a landmark development, though controversial. It could essentially open the door to crypto being used more for campaign donations, added to its already-growing popularity recently.
However, this development with the Winklevoss twins also shows that donating crypto will not be as straightforward as fiat. The value of digital assets goes up and down and this makes it tricky to stay on the right side of federal laws.
It shows that while we might be entering a new era of crypto playing a larger role in politics, we will still need to navigate its unique challenges. The same Bloomberg report noted that Trump has received less than $100,000 in crypto donations compared to the millions in fiat his campaign has gotten so far.
Some of the reasons for this include the simple fact that fiat currency is more widely used than crypto. Some donors might also be turned away by the fees associated with sending crypto.
Still, this is a historic development and as more politicians accept crypto, some of these kinks and issues will be worked out. And perhaps by the next election cycle, there will be fewer mishaps.
