Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has returned excess donations from the billionaire Winklevoss twins, founders of the cryptocurrency company Gemini, after their contributions to his presidential campaign exceeded the federal legal limit, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, whose firm settled agreements with U.S. and New York state financial regulators in February after accusations of wrongdoing, each announced $1 million donations on social media platform X on Thursday.
Their contributions exceeded the maximum allowable limit of $844,600 per person that the Trump committee can legally accept. The excess amount was refunded to the donors, Bloomberg reported, citing a campaign official.
A spokesperson for the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
The donations followed Trump’s portrayal of himself as a crypto advocate, highlighted at a San Francisco fundraiser this month where he criticized Democrats’ attempts to regulate the crypto sector.
In May, Trump’s campaign raised over $141 million, surpassing U.S. President Joe Biden’s campaign and the Democrats, who reported a combined total of $85 million.
Following his indictment on 34 felony counts in New York State on May 30, Trump’s campaign intensified its fundraising efforts, energizing supporters and amassing millions in small-dollar donations.
Recently, billionaire Timothy Mellon, the heir to the Mellon family fortune and the largest donor to pro-Trump PACs, contributed an additional $50 million to support Trump.
