Winklevoss twins gave Trump’s super PAC $10 million 23 days after CFTC joined Gemini relief bid
Matching FEC rows name Gemini because it liquidated the same bitcoin, not because the exchange donated another $10 million.
Quick Take
- Winklevoss twins gave MAGA Inc. $10.018M in bitcoin, 23 days after the CFTC backed Gemini's bid.
- FEC records show Gemini sold the donated bitcoin; matching entries are not a second $10M donation.
- CFTC cited evidence and process failures in seeking relief; Gemini's $5M penalty will not return.
Newly filed federal election records show Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss gave $10.018 million in Bitcoin to MAGA Inc., the super PAC aligned with President Donald Trump, on June 19, 2026.
The gifts came 23 days after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced that it had joined the brothers’ crypto exchange, Gemini, in seeking relief from a 2025 judgment.
The FEC filing shows that the committee sold the donated Bitcoin through Gemini. The donation came 23 days after the CFTC joined Gemini’s effort to undo parts of its 2025 judgment, although the filing offers no evidence linking the two events.
The dates establish a sequence, but the records provide no clear evidence that the donations caused or influenced the CFTC’s action, that the agency coordinated with the donors, or that a quid pro quo occurred.
Cameron’s records total $5,006,604.47 and Tyler’s total $5,011,860.44. Four June 19 rows naming Gemini add up to exactly the same $10,018,464.91 and say the Bitcoin was sold through the exchange to unknown purchasers.
FEC rules require a political committee selling donated Bitcoin to name the exchange. The buyer can remain anonymous and does not count as a contributor.
Why the CFTC changed course
The CFTC said its review concluded that the complaint against Gemini would not have been filed under current enforcement standards.
The agency cited credibility problems with a whistleblower account and weaknesses in the evidence, including supporting material requested by a commissioner but not supplied before the case was authorized. It also said privilege and relevance objections impeded Gemini’s defense and that regulatory authority had been used improperly as settlement leverage.
The CFTC also pointed to Gemini’s status as a fraud victim and a change in federal digital-asset policy.
In an amended joint motion, the parties asked the court to vacate the consent order or, alternatively, lift its remaining prospective provisions, including a permanent injunction. The $5 million penalty imposed in 2025 had been paid, remained satisfied, and would not be returned to Gemini.
The June gifts extend the brothers’ earlier support for MAGA Inc. A July 2025 filing attributed about $1.015 million in January bitcoin records to the twins. Their newly disclosed amount is nearly ten times larger.
That concentration is likely to hone scrutiny of CFTC independence as lawmakers debate giving the agency a larger role in crypto market structure.
It illustrates how a small number of industry executives now place large sums into political committees while their companies remain affected by enforcement policy. Twenty-three days is close enough to raise eyebrows, but timing alone is not evidence of influence.
