Former President Donald J. Trump, who became the first major candidate to speak at a cryptocurrency conference on Saturday, reportedly raised $21 million at the event. Bitcoin Bitcoin
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According to Bitcoin Magazine CEO David Bailey, the event is expected to occur in 2024.
The money came largely from a Bitcoin Conference fundraiser for Trump held at Nashville’s Music City Center after Trump’s much-anticipated speech on Saturday. The event, partly organized by Senator Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), drew 100 attendees and was said to represent his “second-highest fundraiser ever.”
Trump has successfully garnered crypto votes and support from some of the industry’s biggest names after promising to seriously reform the U.S. regulatory environment. Over the past few months, during his campaign, he has made several outreaches to the industry and raised funds from some of its biggest names.
According to an RSVP invitation seen by The Block, Saturday’s “roundtable” with the former president costs $844,600 per person, with a photo session costing at least $60,000. Attendees included Gemini co-founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, as well as celebrities Kid Rock, Jake Paul and Billy Ray Cyrus, according to Fox. Eleanor Terrett on X.
“It came from a combination of industry and whale/OG,” said David Bailey, CEO of Bitcoin Magazine, which ran the event. I told X.
In addition to the millions raised at the Nashville event, the campaign has raised $4 million in cryptocurrency since it began accepting digital asset donations in May, before the conference began. More than $2.15 million of that came from just 19 donors. That’s probably why Trump said on stage that he had already raised $25 million in cryptocurrency.
Trump previously reported personally owning between $100,000 and $250,000 in cryptocurrency in 2022. His campaign has raised a total of $221 million and currently has $128 million in cash, according to the Federal Election Commission. filing.
Cryptocurrency opens the wallet
The news comes as cryptocurrency-focused Fairshake has grown into the largest political action committee with a war chest of more than $10 billion. 220 million dollars To support pro-crypto politicians. In recent weeks, several industry figures have come forward to support and fund the Trump campaign and other supportive politicians from various walks of life.
After years of hostility between regulators, lawmakers, and the White House, industry insiders are beginning to view the current U.S. election cycle as an existential problem for the industry. “If the Democrats win, crypto is dead in the U.S.,” former Messari CEO Ryan Selkis told The Block in a direct message.
Trump has emerged as a surprising advocate for the industry, especially given his previous hostility to cryptocurrencies. He has since become a fan of cryptocurrencies, and has been embraced by some of the biggest names in the space, especially after his 48-minute speech at the Bitcoin 2024 conference where he announced plans to build a strategic Bitcoin store and fire crypto-skeptic SEC Chairman Gary Gensler.
Kraken’s Jesse Powell and Gemini’s Winklevoss twins have each donated at least $1 million to the Trump campaign in recent weeks, but some of the funds have been returned for exceeding donor thresholds.
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