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Kraken Co-Founder Jesse Powell Donates $1M, Mostly Ether, to Donald Trump

Powell said he is supporting the only major pro-crypto party candidate.

Updated Jun 28, 2024, 9:40 a.m. Published Jun 28, 2024, 9:32 a.m.
16:9 : Kraken Co-founder Jesse Powell (CoinDesk)
16:9 : Kraken Co-founder Jesse Powell (CoinDesk)
  • Kraken co-founder Jesse Powell donated $1 million to U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump.
  • Powell joins the Winklevoss twins, founders of the Gemini exchange, in helping fund his campaign.

Jesse Powell, a co-founder of the crypto exchange Kraken, said he donated $1 million to Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump, most of which was in ether (ETH).

"I am excited to join other leaders from our community to unite behind the only pro-crypto major party candidate in the 2024 Presidential election," Powell posted on his X account.

Trump has emerged as a pro-crypto candidate during the election campaign. Last month, he said he was accepting donations in crypto. He has called for all bitcoin to be made in the U.S. and said the nation should be a leader in the crypto field. He has yet, however, to suggest any policies for crypto. The topic did not arise during yesterday's first presidential debate against President Joe Biden, despite the crypto community's best efforts.

Powell joins other personalities in the crypto community who have been fueling Trump's campaign. Gemini exchange founders the Winklevoss twins said they had each given Trump $1 million, though some was reportedly refunded to comply with donation limits.


Camomile Shumba

Camomile Shumba is a CoinDesk regulatory reporter based in the UK. Previously, Shumba interned at Business Insider and Bloomberg. Camomile has featured in Harpers Bazaar, Red, the BBC, Black Ballad, Journalism.co.uk, Cryptopolitan.com and South West Londoner. Shumba studied politics, philosophy and economics as a combined degree at the University of East Anglia before doing a postgraduate degree in multimedia journalism. While she did her undergraduate degree she had an award-winning radio show on making a difference. She does not currently hold value in any digital currencies or projects.

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