In January 2025, the crypto industry made large donations to Donald Trump’s inauguration fund, raising questions about potential links between financing and SEC actions.
Large Donations from Crypto Players
On April 20, 2025, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) released documents confirming significant contributions to Trump’s inauguration fund. Major donors included Consensys, Solana, and Uniswap CEO Hayden Adams, who contributed $245,000. Solana Labs donated $1 million, while Consensys provided $100,000. These firms joined other large players in the industry such as Coinbase, Ripple Labs, Kraken, and Robinhood.
Legal Actions and Freed Resources
Since Trump's inauguration on January 20 and the appointment of Mark Uyeda as head of the SEC, the agency has dropped many investigations targeting crypto companies that made donations. In February, Uniswap announced that the SEC dropped its investigation, and Consensys had a legal action terminated as well. Ripple, Kraken, Robinhood, and Coinbase also saw their cases abandoned after their contributions.
Conflict of Interest Questions
This situation raises questions about possible conflicts of interest, especially as the Trump family is involved in several crypto-related projects. The president notably launched his own memecoin on the Solana blockchain and his family created World Liberty Financial, a company issuing a stablecoin pegged to the dollar.
The developments in the cryptocurrency industry and the upcoming new regulations in the US place Trump and his administration at the center of significant financial and ethical issues.
