Crypto Giants Poured Millions Into Trump's Inauguration as SEC Backed Off Investigations

Several major players in the crypto space have funneled millions into U.S. political events following the 2020 election

Several major players in the crypto space have funneled millions into U.S. political events following the 2024 election, according to recently disclosed records from the Federal Election Commission.

The filings, released by the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee on April 20, highlight the surprising involvement of top blockchain firms and executives in President Donald Trump’s inauguration celebrations after his re-election win.

Among the most significant contributions were $1 million from Solana Labs, $245,000 from Uniswap CEO Hayden Adams, and $100,000 from Consensys. They weren’t alone; Coinbase, Ripple Labs, Kraken, Robinhood, and Ondo Finance were also listed as donors.

In total, the committee received over $239 million from a diverse range of donors, including McDonald’s, Meta, Apple’s Tim Cook, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, and corporate giants like Delta, FedEx, and Nvidia.

Since taking office on January 20, President Trump appointed Mark Uyeda as interim head of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Following this appointment, the SEC began quietly backing away from several high-profile enforcement cases involving crypto firms—many of which had backed Trump’s inauguration.

As reported by Bloomberg, Uniswap announced in February that its SEC investigation was dropped, while Consensys confirmed the end of a legal dispute with the agency. Similar actions were reportedly abandoned against Ripple, Coinbase, Kraken, and Robinhood Crypto, all of which had collectively contributed around $9 million.

The announcement of Trump’s own token on January 17, launched on the Solana blockchain, sparked debate over potential conflicts of interest. The token, named after the former president, was created by a company called Trump Tokens.

Melania Trump also launched her own token days later, while the Trump family names were linked to World Liberty Financial, a crypto firm behind a new U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin. This development comes as U.S. lawmakers are once again discussing regulatory frameworks for stablecoins.

In addition to the inauguration festivities, pro-crypto PACs made significant contributions to the 2024 election cycle, pouring more than $131 million into key congressional races.

One group, Fairshake, has already confirmed it’s preparing for 2026, boasting a war chest exceeding $100 million—with support from firms like Coinbase and Ripple. This PAC, founded by billionaire antifederalist donor Steve Siegal, is aiming to influence legislation on issues such as Section 230, Title VII, and antitrust.