Follow the Crypto

Quid pro quo

Cryptocurrency companies are reaping the benefits of their contributions to Trump and other pro-crypto politicians.
EntityBenefit to entityBenefit to Trump and family
United Arab Emirates
  • Agreement that the US will allow the UAE access to advanced AI chips 
  • 15% stake in TikTok under Trump administration-brokered deal 
  • Partnership with World Liberty Financial, which included "support[ing] the launch of Aqua 1's Aqua Fund" 
  • $2 billion investment from MGX into Binance, denominated in USD1 (2025) 
  • $1.5 billion investment in Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners (via Lunate, with Qatar; December 2024) 
  • $500 million investment in the Trump family's World Liberty Financial via Aryam Investment 1 (49% stake, two board seats; January 2025) 
  • $200 million investment in Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners (via a sovereign wealth fund, 2023) 
  • $100 million to purchase $WLFI tokens from the Trump family's World Liberty Financial, via Aqua 1 Foundation (2025) 
  • Investment in AI & Crypto Czar David Sacks' Craft Ventures (via Abu Dhabi Investment Authority; circa 2017) 
Saudi Arabia
  • Agreement that the US will sell F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia 
  • $2 billion investment in Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners (2022) 
  • Partnership between state-linked Dar Global and the Trump Organization to build and "tokenize" a Trump-branded hotel and resort in the Maldives 
  • Investment in AI & Crypto Czar David Sacks' Craft Ventures (circa 2017) 
GD Culture Group
  • TikTok not banned in the US. (GD Group's business is dependent on TikTok) 
  • $300 million purchase of $TRUMP memecoins (announced but unconfirmed) 
Justin Sun and Tron
  • SEC enforcement case settled for $10 million fine with no admission of wrongdoing 
  • Criminal investigation likely ended 
  • Justin Sun added to World Liberty Financial advisory board 
  • Tron to go public in the US in a $100 million deal brokered via Dominari Securities (where Eric and Donald Trump Jr. are board members) 
  • $100 million to purchase $TRUMP memecoins (announced but unconfirmed) 
  • $75 million to purchase $WLFI tokens from the Trump family's World Liberty Financial 
  • $37.7 million to purchase $TRUMP memecoins (via HTX) 
  • $20 million to purchase shares of the Trump-linked Alt5 Sigma and more $WLFI (announced but unconfirmed) 
  • Listed USD1 for trading on HTX
Coinbase
  • SEC enforcement case dismissed with prejudice 
  • Relaunched bitcoin borrowing program previously shut down after SEC warnings 
  • SEC statement that staking services are not within their jurisdiction 
  • CFTC amicus brief looking to shield prediction markets from state regulation 
  • Coinbase unilaterally blocked the Clarity Act in the Senate Banking Committee, demanding changes to stablecoin revenue provisions and more authority given to the CFTC 
  • $56.13 million to crypto-focused super PACs (2026 cycle)
  • $46.5 million to crypto-focused super PACs (2024 cycle)
  • $1.09 million to Senate super PACs (2026 cycle)
  • $1 million to Senate super PACs (2024 cycle)
  • $1 million to Trump-affiliated PACs (2026 cycle)
  • $550,000 to House super PACs (2026 cycle)
  • $11,775 to Stand With Crypto's dark money arm (2024 cycle) 
  • Sponsored Trump's military parade 
  • Contributed to fund Trump's $300 million ballroom project 
Ripple
  • SEC enforcement case ended 
  • SEC joined with Ripple to request $75 million of previous SEC fine be returned to Ripple and injunction on institutional sales of XRP be lifted (rejected by judge) 
  • National trust bank charter provisionally approved 
  • $49 million to crypto-focused super PACs (2024 cycle)
  • $48.5 million to crypto-focused super PACs (2026 cycle)
  • $4.88 million to Trump-affiliated PACs (2026 cycle)
  • $2 million to House super PACs (2026 cycle)
  • $656,700 to House super PACs (2024 cycle)
  • $489,100 to Senate super PACs (2024 cycle)
  • $310,000 to Senate super PACs (2026 cycle)
  • $300,000 to Trump-affiliated PACs (2024 cycle)
  • Contributed to fund Trump's $300 million ballroom project 
Cumberland DRW
  • SEC enforcement case dismissed with prejudice 
  • $100 million investment into Trump-owned Trump Media & Technology Group 
  • $100,000 to crypto-focused super PACs (2024 cycle)
Andreessen Horowitz
  • Four Andreessen Horowitz employees installed in formal or informal positions of influence at the White House 
  • $47 million to crypto-focused super PACs (2024 cycle)
  • $24.15 million to crypto-focused super PACs (2026 cycle)
  • $6 million to Trump-affiliated PACs (2026 cycle)
  • $5.35 million to Trump-affiliated PACs (2024 cycle)
  • $1.9 million to Senate super PACs (2024 cycle)
  • $720,000 to Senate super PACs (2026 cycle)
  • $310,000 to House super PACs (2026 cycle)
  • $85,000 to House super PACs (2024 cycle)
Crypto.com
  • SEC investigation ended with no action 
  • CFTC filed an amicus brief in favor of Crypto.com in Crypto.com v. Nevada, looking to shield prediction markets from state regulation 
  • National trust bank charter provisionally approved 
  • $36 million to Trump-affiliated PACs (2026 cycle)
  • $240,000 to Senate super PACs (2026 cycle)
  • Partnership with Trump-owned Trump Media & Technology Group to launch crypto ETFs and integrate prediction markets into Truth Social 
  • Joint venture with Trump-owned Trump Media & Technology Group to create a CRO treasury company called Trump Media Group CRO Strategy Inc. Crypto.com bought $50 million of TMTG stock, TMTG bought $105 million in Crypto.com's Cronos (CRO) token 
DWF Labs
  • Opened a New York office in hopes of having "direct dialogue with the policymakers" 
  • $25 million to purchase $WLFI tokens from the Trump family's World Liberty Financial 
  • Partnership with World Liberty Financial 
Gemini
  • SEC enforcement dismissed with prejudice 
  • SEC investigation ended with no action 
  • CFTC amicus brief looking to shield prediction markets from state regulation 
  • $5.92 million to crypto-focused super PACs (2024 cycle)
  • $4.4 million to Trump-affiliated PACs (2026 cycle)
  • $3.09 million to House super PACs (2026 cycle)
  • $2.6 million to Trump-affiliated PACs (2024 cycle)
  • $1 million for memberships for the Winklevoss twins to the Trump family-run Executive Branch club 
  • $1 million to Senate super PACs (2026 cycle)
  • $990,000 to crypto-focused super PACs (2026 cycle)
  • $80,000 to Senate super PACs (2024 cycle)
  • $15,000 to Stand With Crypto's dark money arm (2024 cycle) 
  • Contributed to fund Trump's $300 million ballroom project 
  • Investment in Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr.'s American Bitcoin mining venture (undisclosed amount) 
Kraken
  • SEC enforcement case dismissed with prejudice 
  • SEC statement that staking services are not within their jurisdiction 
  • Relaunched staking services which were shut down as part of a February 2023 SEC settlement 
  • Criminal investigation into Chairman and former CEO Jesse Powell closed 
  • Kraken granted Federal Reserve master account
  • $1 million to crypto-focused super PACs (2026 cycle)
  • $1 million to Trump-affiliated PACs (2024 cycle)
  • $1 million to crypto-focused super PACs (2024 cycle)
  • $1 million to Trump-affiliated PACs (2026 cycle)
  • $50,000 to Senate super PACs (2026 cycle)
  • $10,000 to House super PACs (2026 cycle)
Circle
  • National trust bank charter provisionally approved 
  • SEC approved IPO 
  • Favorable stablecoin regulation
  • $1 million to crypto-focused super PACs (2024 cycle)
  • $1 million to Trump-affiliated PACs (2026 cycle)
  • $1 million to Senate super PACs (2026 cycle)
  • $1 million to House super PACs (2026 cycle)
  • $50,000 to crypto-focused super PACs (2026 cycle)
Ondo Finance
  • SEC investigation ended with no action 
  • Trump family's World Liberty Financial purchased $720,000 of ONDO tokens 
  • $3.1 million to Trump-affiliated PACs (2026 cycle)
  • Former House Financial Services chair Patrick McHenry named vice chairman of advisory board 
  • Partnership with the Trump family's World Liberty Financial crypto business 
Robinhood
  • SEC investigation ended with no action 
  • "Preferred platform" for Trump's second $TRUMP memecoin event 
  • $2 million to Trump-affiliated PACs (2026 cycle)
  • $200,000 to crypto-focused super PACs (2026 cycle)
MoonPay
  • Chosen as payment processor for the $TRUMP memecoin launch 
  • FBI possibly prioritized recovering funds from inauguration fund scam 
  • $1 million to Stand With Crypto's dark money arm (2024 cycle) 
  • $250,000 to what they thought was the Trump inauguration fund (but was actually a scam; 2024) 
  • $100,000 to crypto-focused super PACs (2026 cycle)
  • Hired former Acting CFTC Chair Caroline Pham as Chief Legal Officer and Chief Administrative Officer 
Uniswap Labs
  • SEC investigation ended with no action 
  • $990,000 to crypto-focused super PACs (2026 cycle)
  • $240,000 to Trump-affiliated PACs (2026 cycle)
  • $50,000 to Senate super PACs (2026 cycle)
BitGo
  • Selected to provide custody services for World Liberty Financial's USD1 stablecoin; retains some of the interest 
  • National trust bank charter provisionally approved 
  • Favorable stablecoin regulation
  • $1 million to Trump-affiliated PACs (2026 cycle)
ConsenSys
  • SEC enforcement case dismissed with prejudice 
  • $800,000 to crypto-focused super PACs (2024 cycle)
Paxos
  • National trust bank charter provisionally approved 
  • Favorable stablecoin regulation
  • $230,000 to House super PACs (2026 cycle)
  • $140,000 to Senate super PACs (2026 cycle)
  • Contributed to fund Trump's $300 million ballroom project 
PayPal
  • SEC investigation ended with no action 
  • $250,000 to Trump-affiliated PACs (2026 cycle)
Kalshi
  • CFTC dropped its appeal in KalshiEx v. CFTC and dismissed the case 
  • Board member Brian Quintenz was nominated to be CFTC Chair. During his time as nominee he allegedly sought confidential information pertaining to prediction markets. His nomination was rescinded in September 2025. 
  • $40,000 to Senate super PACs (2026 cycle)
  • Donald Trump Jr. named strategic advisor 
Aave
  • SEC investigation ended with no action 
  • Trump family's World Liberty Financial purchased $5.4 million in AAVE tokens 
  • Trump family's World Liberty Financial has borrowed assets via Aave 
  • Partnership with the Trump family's World Liberty Financial crypto business 
Binance
  • SEC enforcement case dismissed with prejudice 
  • Reported talks with US Treasury Department to remove compliance monitor 
  • Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao pardoned 
  • SEC statement that staking services are not within their jurisdiction 
  • Provided software to World Liberty Financial 
  • Listed USD1 for trading 
  • Binance continues to hold their $2 billion investment from the Emirati MGX in USD1, generating interest for the Trump family
  • Reported Trump family talks to acquire stake in Binance US 
  • Promotion in which Binance pays 20% APY to customers who hold USD1 
  • Launched a series of no-fee trading pairs for $USD1 
  • Converted BUSD stablecoin reserves to USD1, generating interest for the Trump family 
Hut 8
    • Formed American Bitcoin with Eric Trump in a partnership where Hut 8 transferred almost all of its mining operations in exchange for an 80% stake 
    Nexo
    • Relaunched in the US after leaving in 2022 due to regulatory action from the SEC, CFPB, and eight state regulators 
    • Sponsored the "Nexo Championship" at the Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeen, Scotland 
    • Hosted a "Trump Business Vision 2025" event in Bulgaria, where Donald Trump Jr. was a headline speaker 
    Tether
    • Favorable stablecoin regulation
    • Former Digital Assets Advisory Council director Bo Hines named strategic advisor 
    • Contributed to fund Trump's $300 million ballroom project 
    Unicoin
    • SEC offered negotiated settlement to end ongoing lawsuit (refused by Unicoin) 
    • Lead sponsor of the Digital Chamber's DC Blockchain Summit, headlined by Donald Trump Jr. (March 2026) 
    Dragonchain
    • SEC enforcement case dismissed with prejudice 
    Immutable
    • SEC investigation ended with no action 
    Metaplanet
    • Eric Trump named strategic advisor 
    Nova Labs
    • SEC case settled for $200,000 fine, claims dropped that Helium and related tokens are securities 
    OpenSea
    • SEC investigation ended with no action 
    Polymarket
    • Polymarket's re-entry to the US greenlit by CFTC after they were forced by the agency to shut down US offerings in 2022 
    • "Double-digit millions of dollars" investment from 1789 Capital, where Donald Trump Jr. is a partner 
    • Donald Trump Jr. named to advisory board 
    • CFTC investigation closed 
    • Criminal investigation closed 
    Yuga Labs
    • SEC investigation ended with no action 
    Zcash Foundation
    • SEC investigation ended with no action