Authorities in Washington D.C. are making arrangements for a large number of individuals to attend the US Capitol Building for the swearing-in ceremony of President-elect Donald Trump – establishing necessary facilities, anticipating potential demonstrations, and bolstering the safety measures for the elected representatives.
Unlike the case in January 2017 when numerous prominent figures chose not to attend Trump’s inauguration, the president-elect in 2025 is anticipated to be greeted by a complete roster of tech industry leaders, wealthy individuals, and top executives from cryptocurrency companies who backed his campaign, both financially and on a personal level.
For DC metro riders, it’s possible you’ve noticed advertisements for Ripple Labs adorning the interior of Capitol South station, which may persist during the inauguration on January 20th. The blockchain company has confirmed to CryptoMoon that their CEO Brad Garlinghouse and chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty have been invited as special guests for the event.
In the 2024 U.S. electoral campaign, Ripple allocated a sum of $45 million as donations to Fairshake, a political group that advocates for pro-cryptocurrency candidates. This was done by purchasing media space and opposing candidates perceived as anti-crypto. Meanwhile, Ripple’s executive, Alderoty, personally contributed over $300,000 to committees backing Trump’s fundraising and political activities.
According to Federal Election Commission records, Fairshake media didn’t make direct purchases to bolster Trump’s campaign. However, many experts believe that the PAC might have indirectly impacted key elections, contributing to the Republicans securing a majority in both the House of Representatives and Senate. This triumph will provide the incoming president with a controlling interest over the US government, known as a trifecta.
Following the declaration of Trump’s victory, I had the opportunity to dine with him in January, alongside Garlinghouse and Alderoty. Notably, Ripple contributed $5 million worth of XRP (XRP) to Trump’s inaugural fund for his presidency.
In total, attending the inauguration may have cost Ripple executives and their company over $50 million, and it’s not just them who are spending money.
A representative from Coinbase, who contributed over $45 million to Fairshake’s campaign for the 2024 election and donated a million dollars to support Donald Trump’s inauguration, stated that the cryptocurrency platform is dedicated to assisting President Trump in his transition process and ultimately, his inauguration.
Initially, it was undecided if CEO Brian Armstrong, who supposedly interacted with the incoming president in November, planned to physically participate in any Washington D.C. gatherings. However, Armstrong is set to deliver a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 21st.
Make a donation, get an inauguration ticket?
For the general public, a restricted quantity of inauguration tickets is issued by the U.S. government. Certain executives in the crypto sector anticipate attending the event as invited guests of Donald Trump or other congressional members, who will watch from the Capitol premises.
As a crypto investor, I can confidently say that many individuals from the Bitcoin and digital currency community are expected to be present in Washington D.C. for the inauguration, as Senator Ted Cruz mentioned during his interview with CryptoMoon on January 16th. This election was fiercely contested, and it seems that Bitcoin and cryptocurrency were significant factors in the voting process.
In August, the Texas Blockchain Council, an organization supporting cryptocurrency, announced they had obtained inauguration tickets through Senator Ted Cruz’s office after backing him over opponent Colin Allred.
A representative from Ondo Finance, a crypto company that contributed $1 million to Donald Trump’s inauguration in December, mentioned that their executive team had received invitations for various events. These included attending the swearing-in ceremony, dinner with the President-elect, dinner with Vice President JD Vance, and several other functions.
As a crypto investor, I’m excited to share that I’ll be representing MoonPay, a company I’m proud to be part of, at official events in Washington D.C. on January 20th. Known for our fiat-to-crypto on-ramp services, we were reportedly involved in the inauguration fund, making this a significant moment for us and the crypto space as a whole.
A representative from the digital trading service Robinhood announced that their CEO, Vlad Tenev, along with other high-ranking officials, were planning to attend President-elect Trump’s inauguration. The corporation had contributed $2 million towards the inaugural funds of the incoming president.
In an attempt to seek clarification, CryptoMoon contacted Circle, the issuer of stablecoins, and Kraken, a cryptocurrency exchange, both of whom contributed $1 million each to Donald Trump’s inauguration. However, no response was received at the time of publishing. Subsequently in June 2024, Kraken’s co-founder, Jesse Powell, disclosed that he had personally donated approximately $1 million worth of cryptocurrency to Trump’s re-election campaign.
On his inauguration day, there’s speculation that Trump might issue multiple executive orders. However, it remains uncertain if any cryptocurrency company representatives will be present at the White House, in case he decides to enact an executive order regarding the creation of a national Bitcoin reserve or policies impacting the industry.
Two leaders from four major tech companies – Mark Zuckerberg (CEO of Meta) and Jeff Bezos (founder of Amazon) – along with Elon Musk (CEO of Tesla and a potential administration member), are rumored to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration. Shou Chew, TikTok’s CEO, is also said to be participating in the event despite speculation that the app may be banned in the US from January 19th onwards.
Mark Zuckerberg seems to have been fostering a close relationship with the upcoming U.S. president by visiting him at his Mar-a-Lago residence and declaring that Meta would no longer fact-check on its platforms: Facebook, Threads, and Instagram. Additionally, Meta made a $1 million donation to the inauguration fund.
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2025-01-17 19:31