Jesse Powell, the co-founder of crypto exchange Kraken, has announced on X that he has personally contributed $1 million, mostly in Ethereum (ETH), to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. The donation marks a watershed moment in the crypto community’s engagement with US electoral politics.
Powell joins the Winklevoss twins, co-founders of the Gemini exchange, in helping fund Trump’s re-election bid.
Jesse Powell Calls Trump ‘The Only Pro-Crypto Major Party Candidate’
On May 21, Trump’s presidential campaign launched a fundraising page enabling crypto donations via Coinbase Commerce, in compliance with federal regulations. Kraken’s Jesse Powell has become the latest big-name crypto executive to donate to the Republican presidential hopeful. According to Powell, Trump is the only major party candidate with a pro-crypto view.
“I am excited to join other leaders from our community to unite behind the only pro-crypto major party candidate in the 2024 Presidential election so the United States can continue to remain a leader in blockchain technology,” he wrote on X (aka Twitter).
Powell Criticizes Biden Administration
Powell claimed that the Biden administration has allowed a “campaign of unchecked regulation by enforcement” that is weakening the U.S. competitiveness against other leading economies in regulating cryptocurrencies. The former Kraken CEO mentioned prominent figures such as Senator Elizabeth Warren and Securities and Exchange Commission chair Gary Gensler as enemies of the crypto industry.
“Despite overwhelming bipartisan Congressional efforts to put clear rules in place, the Biden White House has stood by and allowed a campaign of unchecked regulation by enforcement,” he postulated.
Powell’s latest support for Trump follows a similar move by Gemini founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss last week. The Winklevoss twins each donated $1 million in Bitcoin to Trump’s campaign as they see him as the best candidate for the crypto industry.
Trump has in recent months openly come out in support of crypto. President Biden, on the other hand, has taken a more harsh stance towards the nascent sector. The most recent being when he vetoed a resolution that sought to roll back the SEC’s Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) 121 policy that critics said discourages banks from offering crypto custody services, despite votes in both chambers of Congress drawing bipartisan support.
Trump’s latest declaration that he will end Biden’s “war on crypto” highlights his acknowledgment of crypto’s importance and its potential influence on voters in the November election.
That being said, crypto did not come up yesterday during the first general debate between Biden and Trump, despite industry participants’ hopes.
