The post U.S. crypto firms’ push for deregulation and political contributions raises ‘red flags’: Report appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

U.S. crypto firms were heavily vested in President Donald Trump’s reelection in 2024, contributing upwards of $144 million towards his campaign. But “unchecked political spending” poses “profound risks,” according to a report published by the Center for Political Accountability (CPA), a nonprofit promoting transparency in corporate political contributions. The report states that the crypto companies’ “aggressive push for deregulation, combined with opaque and unaccountable political contributions,” has raised “red flags among the regulators.” More importantly, it has “eroded investor confidence and public trust in the long-term viability of these companies.” Crypto firms donated heavily to re-elect Trump, and it’s paying off U.S. crypto firms’ political spending reached “an unprecedented scale” during Trump’s re-election campaign, especially Coinbase and Ripple, the report said. Coinbase’s political action committee (PAC) donated over $79 million for Trump’s re-election, according to data from OpenSecrets, a platform that tracks political donations. Ripple was the second-largest donor among crypto firms with contributions exceeding $63.6 million. Coinbase also donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration committee while Ripple donated $5 million in digital assets. Additionally, Coinbase has committed to donating $25 million for the 2026 mid-term elections. Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, the founders of the crypto exchange Gemini, donated $1 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) to Trump 47. Their donations exceeded the legal limit of $844,600 and they collectively received refunds of over $300,000. All three exchanges were in hot water with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for years. In June 2023, the SEC charged Coinbase for operating as an unregistered securities exchange. Ripple was embroiled in a legal battle with the SEC since 2020. In August 2024, Ripple secured a partial victory in court as the judge declared that XRP could not be classified as securities as they did not meet the Howey test. The SEC, however,…

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Filed under: News - @ March 8, 2025 8:28 pm