After the court considered invalidating the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) $5 million settlement with cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, the company sent $10 million in Bitcoin (BTC) to a political action super committee (PAC) supporting President Donald Trump.
According to a July report by MAGA Inc. Super PAC for the Federal Election Commission (FEC) filed on Monday, Gemini Trust Company led by co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss sent two separate deposits worth over $5 million in Bitcoin on June 19.
The donation, which the PAC can operate for independent Trump-supporting expenses, was reported about three weeks after the CFTC filed a joint motion with Gemini in federal court seeking to invalidate a January 2025 settlement alleging the company made false or misleading statements. CFTC Chairman Michael Selig said at the time that the agency, led by former U.S. President Joe Biden, had “politically targeted” the Winklevoses through enforcement actions.
In addition to recent donations to MAGA Inc. The Winklevoss brothers each donated $1 million to Trump’s 2024 re-election campaign and supported the then-candidate through social media posts. After Trump took office in January 2025, the twins attended the signing ceremony of the Stable Coin Payments Act, the GENIUS Act, supported their son’s cryptocurrency mining venture American Bitcoin, and donated $21 million in Bitcoin to the Digital Freedom Fund PAC in an effort to “support President Trump and his administration’s efforts” related to crypto policy.
Related: Crypto companies have spent $189 million so far in the 2026 US election cycle: report
Since lawyers filed a joint CFTC and Gemini motion with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in May, no decision has been published in the public record. Cointelegraph reached out to CFTC and Gemini advisor Avi Perry for comment on the $10 million contribution, but did not receive an immediate response. A CFTC spokesperson told Cointelegraph in June that both sides “agreed that the $5 million penalty would not be repaid to Gemini” if awarded by a court.
In a June letter to Selig, Sen. Elizabeth Warren called the joint motion to repeal the decision and other factors “concern indications that the CFTC is dependent on political pressure and the interests of wealthy insiders, unbound by the rule of law and failing to protect investors and market integrity.”
As of June 30, MAGA Inc. reported receiving more than $397 million.
Selig remains the sole commissioner of the CFTC and no appointments have been announced
The CFTC chairman, a Republican confirmed by the U.S. Senate in December 2025, remains the only member of the usually bipartisan group of five commissioners that lead the agency.
Many lawmakers are pressing Trump to announce additional nominations for the financial regulator as Congress considers comprehensive cryptocurrency market structure legislation, the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act. The bill is expected to give the CFTC significant authority to regulate and supervise digital assets.
As of Thursday, the White House had not announced any CFTC commissioner nominees, leaving Selig largely to lead the agency’s program.
Warehouse: Here’s why reaching an ethics agreement under the CLARITY Act can be so tough
