- Arjun Sethi pledged $2M to PACs backing Trump, citing threats to crypto freedoms.
- Winklevoss twins donated $21M Bitcoin to advance pro-Republican crypto strategies.
- Fairshake PAC raised $300M in 2024 to influence bipartisan crypto-friendly policies.
Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi announced on Tuesday that the exchange would contribute $2 million to political action committees backing former President Donald Trump. Sethi pledged $1 million to the Digital Freedom Fund PAC and raised the company’s 2025 commitment to America First Digital by another $1 million.
Sethi Links Crypto to Constitutional Rights
In his announcement, Sethi said the fight for crypto in U.S. is “far from over,” warning that foundational principles remain under threat. He cited regulatory uncertainty, enforcement actions, and restrictions on privacy tools as pressing challenges. According to Sethi, these issues extend beyond policy debates and raise constitutional questions about financial freedom in a digital sector.
He emphasized that Bitcoin’s creation in 2008 was not only technical but philosophical, born as a response to opaque financial systems. Sethi framed crypto as a “peaceful revolution,” enabling individuals to hold value and transact without relying on centralized intermediaries. He tied these ideals directly to American traditions of privacy and self-determination, calling them extensions of the Bill of Rights.
Winklevoss Twins Pro-Crypto Funding
The Kraken donations follow similar action from Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who last month contributed over $21 million in Bitcoin to launch the Digital Freedom Fund. Unlike other industry-backed committees that spread funds across parties, the twins openly pledged support for Republicans and for advancing Trump’s crypto agenda in the 2026 midterms.
The Digital Freedom Fund is joined by America First Digital, led by Jason Thielman, former executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Kristin Walker, former chief of staff to Senator Cynthia Lummis, serves as senior advisor. Lummis recently reintroduced the BITCOIN Act, a bill proposing $80 billion in Bitcoin purchases for a U.S. strategic reserve.
Industry figures welcomed the Kraken commitment. Tyler Winklevoss posted his support, while Raj Kapoor of the India Blockchain Alliance described the donations as a change from defensive lobbying to ideological advocacy. He noted the alignment of digital assets with constitutional values.
Related: Kraken and SEC’s Meeting Signals Major Shift for Tokenized Assets
A Growing Political Investment From Crypto
Sethi outlined four guiding principles behind Kraken’s contributions: the right to self-custody assets, building decentralized systems without permission, freedom from surveillance-based finance, and maintaining open, composable infrastructure. He said these donations are strategic investments in improving legal and regulatory frameworks for crypto’s future in the United States.
The donations come amid federal prosecutions of privacy developers, including the founders of Bitcoin mixer Samourai Wallet and Ethereum protocol Tornado Cash. Prosecutors allege these tools facilitated money laundering. The crypto industry has already shown strong political support.
Firms contributed $18 million to Trump’s inauguration, with Ripple’s $4.9 million donation ranking as the second largest overall. Coinbase, Kraken, and Crypto.com also participated, while stablecoin issuer Circle gave $1 million. Individual executives, including Kraken’s Jesse Powell and the Winklevoss twins, added personal contributions of $1 million each.
Fairshake, the largest crypto super PAC, raised nearly $300 million in 2024 from Coinbase, Ripple, and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. Unlike partisan committees, Fairshake distributed funding across both parties, aiming to prevent digital assets from becoming a divisive issue in Washington.
After Trump’s return to the White House, his administration hired an AI and crypto czar, authorized a digital assets reserve, and called back enforcement at the SEC and CFTC. The SEC has since dismissed lawsuits against several crypto firms, including Coinbase, Kraken, and Ripple, which previously faced investigations.
Meanwhile, Kraken $2 million commitment, paired with the Winklevoss twins’ $21 million Bitcoin donation, shows how crypto money is influencing U.S. politics. These contributions align digital assets with constitutional ideals while pressing for favourable legislation. With PACs like Fairshake and America First Digital expanding their reach, crypto’s influence is growing.
