Gemini Trust sent $10 million in Bitcoin to pro-Trump super PAC MAGA Inc. on June 19, weeks after the CFTC moved to reverse a $5 million settlement with the exchange, raising questions about regulatory independence amid a leadership vacuum at the agency.
The Winklevoss twins' Gemini Trust sent $10 million in Bitcoin to a pro-Trump super PAC three weeks after the CFTC moved to reverse a $5 million settlement with the exchange.
Gemini Trust Co. contributed $10 million in Bitcoin to MAGA Inc., a super political action committee supporting President Donald Trump, on June 19, according to the PAC's July filing with the Federal Election Commission. The donation came in two separate tranches of more than $5 million each in Bitcoin.
The contribution followed a joint motion filed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Gemini in May in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, seeking to reverse a January 2025 settlement in which Gemini agreed to pay $5 million for allegedly making false or misleading statements to the regulator. CFTC Chair Michael Selig said the agency under former President Joe Biden "politically targeted" the Winklevoss brothers through enforcement actions, according to a statement at the time.
"The joint motion for reversal and other factors are concerning signs of a CFTC beholden to political pressures and interests of the wealthy insiders, unbound by the rule of law and failing to protect investors and market integrity," Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote in a June letter to Selig. The court has not yet posted a decision on the joint motion to the public docket.
The $10 million Bitcoin donation is the latest in a series of political contributions from the Winklevoss twins, who each gave $1 million to Trump's 2024 campaign and later contributed $21 million in Bitcoin to the Digital Freedom Fund PAC to "support President Trump and his administration's efforts" on crypto policy. They also attended the signing ceremony for the GENIUS Act, a stablecoin payments bill, after Trump took office in January 2025, and backed his sons' crypto mining venture American Bitcoin.
CFTC leadership vacuum adds uncertainty to crypto oversight
Selig, a Republican confirmed by the Senate in December 2025, remains the sole CFTC commissioner in what is typically a bipartisan group of five. The White House has not announced any additional nominations, leaving Selig to direct the agency's agenda alone as Congress considers the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which would grant the CFTC significant authority over digital asset regulation.
MAGA Inc. reported receiving more than $397 million in total contributions as of June 30. A CFTC spokesperson told Cointelegraph in June that both sides "agreed that the $5 million penalty will not be returned to Gemini" if the court grants the reversal.
The convergence of political donations, a pending settlement reversal, and an understaffed regulator raises questions about the independence of crypto enforcement under the current administration. With the CLARITY Act potentially expanding the CFTC's jurisdiction over digital assets, the agency's leadership structure and its handling of the Gemini case could set a precedent for how prior crypto enforcement actions are treated going forward.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
