Cryptobros Winklevoss twins and Elon Musk are supporting Donald Trump’s run for President.
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Some of America’s biggest tech titans and investors, including Palantir co-founders, the Winklevoss twins, and reportedly Elon Musk, are supporting former US President Donald Trump’s presidential bid by donating to a political committee backing him.
Musk, who announced his support for Trump on Saturday, said he plans to donate $45 million (41 million euros) per month to a committee called America PAC, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
As of the end of June, SpaceX and its chief executive had yet to give any money to the America PAC, according to a quarterly financial report filed with the Federal Election Commission on Monday.
It is unclear whether he made any donations to the committee in July.
The PAC revealed that it had received funding from Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, who donated $1 million (€917,000) through Lonsdale Enterprises, a company with links to the group.
The filing also noted that crypto investors Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss each contributed $250,000 (€230,000).
Meanwhile, Joe Kraft, CEO of coal producer Alliance Resource Partners and an executive at sandwich chain Jimmy John’s, each donated $1 million.
The Convergence of Cryptocurrency and Technology
The tech industry in California’s Silicon Valley, a Democratic stronghold, is known as a liberal area, but President Joe Biden’s taxation and regulation of companies is pulling them further to the right.
According to the Washington Post, Trump promised donors at fundraisers that he would implement policies that would favor them, such as lowering corporate taxes, approving oil drilling permits and banning pro-Palestinian protesters from the US.
He also changed course on cryptocurrencies: While in office, Trump called them a “scam” and a “destined catastrophe,” but since running for president, the Republican Party has adopted a platform that supports crypto innovation.
“Republicans will end the Democrats’ illegal and un-American crackdown on cryptocurrencies and oppose the creation of a central bank digital currency,” the document states.
“We will protect the right to mine Bitcoin and ensure that all Americans have the right to self-custody of their digital assets and trade them free from government oversight or control.”
“The White House’s Tech Venture Capitalists”
President Trump’s pick for vice president, Senator J.D. Vance, a former venture capitalist who has invested in technology and cryptocurrency companies, could have further influence in Silicon Valley.
“JD Vance. Ex-tech VC in the White House. Greatest country on earth,” posted Delian Asparoukhov, a partner at Peter Thiel-backed venture capital firm The Founders Fund.
“Trump Vance is ringing out victory,” Musk reiterated on his platform X.
Vance, who has invested in companies such as Christian prayer app Hollow and Thiel-backed artificial intelligence (AI) defense company Anduril Industries, said he has invested between $100,000 (€91,000) and $250,000 (€230,000) in Bitcoin in 2022.
