Gemini sent $10M in Bitcoin to Trump PAC after CFTC deal
Gemini sent 10M Bitcoin to MAGA Inc., a Trump-backing super PAC, weeks after a joint CFTC motion to reverse a $5 million settlement. The June 19 gifts total about $10 million in BTC as a New York court considers undoing the January 2025 Gemini deal.
Key Takeaways
- Gemini Trust Company contributed about $10 million in Bitcoin to MAGA Inc. on June 19, per the PAC’s July FEC report.
- The gifts came roughly three weeks after Gemini and the CFTC jointly asked a New York federal court to reverse a January 2025 settlement.
- That settlement involved a $5 million penalty over alleged false or misleading statements; the CFTC says the penalty would not be returned if the court grants the motion.
- Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss previously each gave $1 million to Trump’s 2024 campaign and later donated $21 million in Bitcoin to the Digital Freedom Fund PAC.
Why did Gemini send $10M in Bitcoin to a Trump PAC?
According to Cointelegraph, MAGA Inc.’s July report to the Federal Election Commission shows Gemini Trust Company, run by co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, sent two separate Bitcoin contributions of more than $5 million each on June 19.
The PAC may use the donation for independent expenditures supporting President Donald Trump. As of June 30, MAGA Inc. reported receiving more than $397 million overall. More Fintech & Crypto Alerts coverage tracks how crypto firms are shaping US politics.
What is the CFTC settlement Gemini wants reversed?
In May, attorneys for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Gemini filed a joint motion in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York seeking to reverse a January 2025 settlement. The case centered on claims Gemini made false or misleading statements and ended in a $5 million penalty.
CFTC Chair Michael Selig has said the agency under former President Joe Biden “politically targeted” the Winklevosses through enforcement actions. A CFTC spokesperson told Cointelegraph in June that both sides agreed the $5 million penalty will not be returned to Gemini if the court grants the motion. No decision has been posted to the public docket.
Senator Elizabeth Warren later wrote to Selig calling the joint motion and related factors “concerning signs of a CFTC beholden to political pressures and interests of the wealthy insiders.”
How else have the Winklevoss twins supported Trump?
Beyond the latest MAGA Inc. gifts, each brother donated $1 million to Trump’s 2024 election campaign and backed him on social media. After Trump took office in January 2025, the twins attended the signing of the GENIUS Act stablecoin payments bill, supported his sons’ crypto mining venture American Bitcoin, and contributed $21 million in Bitcoin to the Digital Freedom Fund PAC to back the administration’s crypto-related efforts.
What does this mean for crypto regulation next?
Selig, confirmed by the Senate in December 2025, remains the sole CFTC commissioner while the agency is usually led by a bipartisan panel of five. Lawmakers have pressed the White House for more nominations as Congress weighs the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act, which is expected to expand the CFTC’s authority over digital assets. As of the Cointelegraph report, no additional commissioner nominations had been announced.