Documents recently disclosed by the Federal Election Commission show that former President Trump raised a record $239 million in inaugural funding through corporate supporters and executives, with significant contributions from the cryptocurrency sector, totaling $18 million from industry companies and their executives.
A stark contrast emerges between traditional industries and new forces: global poultry giant Pilgrim's occupies the top donation spot with $5 million, while blockchain company Ripple Labs, despite being embroiled in legal disputes with the SEC, still contributed $4.9 million, securing second place. Retail trading platform Robinhood, leveraging its cryptocurrency trading business revenue, contributed $2 million in support. Other leading entities in the industry, such as the three major exchanges Coinbase, Kraken, and Crypto.com, stablecoin issuer Circle (which recently initiated its listing process), and venture capital firm Paradigm, which achieved a record high in assets under management in 2024, each donated $1 million.
This fundraising not only highlights the strong support of the cryptocurrency industry for Trump but also reflects the strategic intention of the sector to expand its policy influence through political donations.