Tyler Winklevoss and Cameron Winklevoss (L-R), creators of crypto exchange Gemini Trust Co., on stage at the Bitcoin 2021 Convention, a cryptocurrency conference held at the Mana Convention Center in Wynwood in Miami, Florida, on June 4, 2021.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss are the biggest individual crypto donors this election cycle,giving a combined $10.1 million, or slightly over $5 million each, according to Federal Election Commission data compiled by crypto market and blockchain analyst James Delmore and independently verified by CNBC.
With 50 days to go until the November general election, political donations from, or in support of, the crypto industry are up to around $190 million, as some of the biggest names in the sector open their digital wallets to help elect candidates sympathetic to their interests.
The Winklevoss twins gave around $1.7 million combined in bitcoin to the Trump 47 Committee,which raises money for Republican former President Donald Trump, over $700,000 combined to the pro-Trump Make America Great Again PAC, $250,000 each to the pro-Trump America PAC, and $4.9 million to the bipartisan pro-crypto Fairshake PAC.
Top executives from blockchain giant Ripple Labs have collectively given more than $3 million to candidate committees and super PACs so far this cycle, with co-founder Chris Larsen donating nearly $2.4 million of that,mostly to help Democratic candidates. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has donated more than $384,000 to multiple PACs and candidates, including to Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and John Deaton, a Republican running against Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren in Massachusetts. The company’s chief legal officer, Stuart Alderoty, gave $300,000 to the Trump 47 Committee.
At a fundraiser for Trump in June, Alderoty explained how Ripple had spent over $100 million litigation to defend itself against civil charges brought by the SEC. The event was held at the San Francisco mansion of venture capitalist David Sacks.
The Winklevoss twins, Coinbase and Ripple didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The month after the San Francisco fundraiser, Trump promised to fire SEC Chair Gary Gensler if he were elected, even though U.S. presidents do not have the authority to fire members of independent commissions without cause. While the incoming president could unseat Gensler from his position as chairman, he would remain on as a commissioner until the end of his term.
Under Gensler, the SEC has taken on major industry players, includingcentralized cryptocurrency exchanges Kraken and Coinbase.
Executives from the two companies have been spending big this cycle. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstronghas given over $1.3 million to a mix of PACs including Fairshake and JD Vance for Senate Inc., as well as directly to Democrats and Republicans running for both House and the Senate seats. Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal has attended at least two Trump fundraisers, including one in Nashville on the sidelines of the biggest bitcoin event of the year.
Kraken co-founder and Chairman Jesse Powell has donated just over $1 million to the Trump campaign.
Individual crypto contributors include ex-Bitfinex strategy chief Phil Potter(over $1.6 million),Multicoin Capital’s Kyle Samani ($878,600), Paradigm co-founder Fred Ehrsam ($735,400), Union Square Ventures partner Fred Wilson ($1,4 million), Paxos CEO and co-founder Charles Cascarilla ($198,500),BitGo CEO Mike Belshe ($119,825),Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakavenko ($67,100), and Gibraltar-based Xapo Bank founder Wences Casares ($374,899).
According to Delmore’s report, no known donations have been made in cryptocurrency to the Future Forward PAC, which is raising funds for Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president. Future Forward began accepting crypto donations this month through a partnership with Coinbase Commerce. It appears the donation page on the website still doesn’t offer a crypto option.
CNBC reached out to two representatives from Future Forward listed on the PAC’s FEC filing to ask about the tally of crypto donations thus far and when it plans to add a crypto payment option on its website. They didn’t immediately respond.
Harris’ fundraising operation has taken off since President Biden dropped out of the race, with her campaign raising $47 million in the first 24 hours after her first, and perhaps only, debate against Trump on Tuesday.
Huge jump from 2020
Delmore, who has been assembling reports on crypto donations in the 2024 election for blockchain analytics platform Breadcrumbs, told CNBC that industry spending is nearly double where it was in the mid-terms — more than $190 million in the 2024 election versus $98 million in the 2022 election. It’s nearly 13 times spending in 2020 of $15 million — a figure based on a mix of data from FEC and OpenSecrets filings.
Unlike the past two election cycles, which featured spending from the now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX and founder Sam Bankman-Fried, this year’s contributor list is more robust and diverse. Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison in March for stealing $8 billion worth of customer money through FTX.
“Most of the crypto donations in 2022 were from FTX and SBF and almost all of them went to Democrats or PACs that support Democrats,” Delmore said.
Delmore said that spending is more balanced between the two parties, but “more has definitely gone to Republican candidates and PACs that supported Republicans and opposed Democrats.”
A Public Citizen report last month found that nearly half of all the corporate money flowing into this year’s election has come from the crypto industry, with Coinbase and Ripple leading the pack.
There is a lot of overlap between crypto’s biggest corporate and individual spenders.
The majority of funds for Fairshake, one of the top-spending PACs this year, can be traced to four sources: Coinbase, Ripple, Jump Crypto and venture firm Andreessen Horowitz.
Widening the category to all of crypto, Delmore’s research finds that billions of dollars are at play, including more than $20 million in sales generated by non-fungible tokens (NFT) released by Trump, according to Bloomberg reporting, Trump-branded meme tokens, the $190 million in political donations from or in support of crypto, and another $1.1 billion on betting on the platform Polymarket.
So far, $922 million in bets have been placed on who will be the winner of the election, and another $206 million on who will win the popular vote.
Electing pro-crypto candidates ultimately comes down to turning out the vote.
The Stand With Crypto Alliance, launched by Coinbase last year, is in the midst of a cross-country bus tour through battleground states to get people registered to vote. The campaign culminates in an event on DC on Wednesday that will include speeches by members of Coinbase’s C-suite, as well as a live performance by music duo The Chainsmokers.
Portable power station specialist EcoFlow is kicking off its third annual Member’s Festival this month and is offering a unique new rewards program to those who become EcoFlow members. The 2025 EcoFlow Member’s Festival will offer savings of up to 65% for its participating customers, and a portion of those funds will be allocated toward rescue power solutions for communities around the globe through the company’s “Power for All” fund.
EcoFlow remains one of the industry leaders in portable power solutions and continues to trek forward in its vision to power a new tech-driven, eco-conscious future. Per its website:
Our mission from day one is to provide smart and eco-friendly energy solutions for individuals, families, and society at large. We are, were, and will continue to be a reliable and trusted energy companion for users around the world.
To achieve such goals, EcoFlow has continued to expand its portfolio of sustainable energy solutions to its community members, including portable power stations, solar generators, and mountable solar panels. While EcoFlow is doing plenty to support its growing customer base, it has expanded its reach by giving back to disaster-affected communities by helping bolster global disaster response efforts the best way it knows how– with portable power solutions.
Source: EcoFlow
EcoFlow and its members look to provide “Power for All”
Since 2023, EcoFlow has collaborated with organizations worldwide as part of its “Power for All” mission. This initiative aims to ensure access to reliable and timely power to disaster-affected communities across the globe, including rescue agencies, affected hospitals, and shelters, to support rescue and recovery efforts.
Advertisement – scroll for more content
This fund most recently provided aid for communities affected by the recent Los Angeles wildfires, assistance to the Special Forces Charitable Trust (SFCT) in North Carolina following severe hurricanes, and support for non-profits engaged in hurricane preparedness in Florida and the Gulf Coast. Per Jodi Burns, CEO of the Special Forces Charitable Trust:
In the wake of devastating storms in Western North Carolina, reliable power was a critical need for the families we serve. Thanks to EcoFlow’s generous donation of generators, we were able to provide immediate relief, ensuring these families and their communities had access to power when they needed it most. We are so impressed with EcoFlow’s commitment to disaster response through their ‘Power for All’ program. It has made a tangible impact, and we are deeply grateful for their support and partnership in helping these families recover and rebuild.
In 2024, the US experienced 27 weather and climate events, each causing losses exceeding $1 billion, marking the second-highest annual total on record, according to National Centers for Environmental Information. The increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters underscore the critical need for reliable and timely power solutions during emergencies, much like EcoFlow and its members are helping provide through the “Power For All” initiative.
To support new and existing EcoFlow members, the company is celebrating its third annual Member’s Festival throughout April to offer a do-not-miss discount on its products and donate a portion of all sales to the “Power for All” fund to provide rescue power to those in need in the future. Learn how it all works below.
Source: EcoFlow
Save big and give back during the 2025 Member’s Festival
As of April 1st, you can now sign up to become an EcoFlow member to participate in the company’s exclusive 2025 Member Festival.
As a member, you can earn “EcoFlow Power Points” by completing tasks like registration, referrals, and product purchases and tracking your individual efforts toward disaster preparedness and recovery.
Beginning April 4, EcoFlow members will also be able to take advantage of exclusive discounts of up to 65% off select portable power stations, including the DELTA Pro Ultra, DELTA Pro 3, DELTA 2 Max, DELTA 3 Plus, RIVER 3 Plus, and more. However, these sale prices only last through April 25, so you’ll want to move quickly!
Click here to learn more about EcoFlow’s “Power for All” campaign. To register for EcoFlow’s 2025 Member Festival in the US, visit the EcoFlow website. To register as a member in Canada, visit here.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.More.
Tesla is losing another top talent: its long-time head of software, David Lau, has reportedly told co-workers that he is exiting the automaker.
Tesla changed how the entire auto industry looks at software.
Before Tesla, it was an afterthought; user interfaces were rudimentary, and you had to go to a dealership to get a software update on your systems.
When Tesla launched the Model S in 2012, it all changed. Your car would get better through software updates like your phone, the large center display was responsive with a UI that actually made sense and was closer to an iPad experience than a car.
Advertisement – scroll for more content
Tesla also integrated its software into its retail experience, service, and manufacturing.
David Lau deserves a lot of the credit for that.
He joined Tesla in 2012 as a senior manager of firmware engineering and quickly rose through the ranks. By 2014, he was promoted to director of firmware engineering and system integration, and in 2017, he became Vice President of software.
Lau listed the responsibilities of his team on his LinkedIn:
Vehicle Software:
Firmware for the powertrain, traction/stability control, HV electronics, battery management, and body control systems
UI software and underlying Embedded Linux platforms
Navigation and routing
iOS and Android Mobile apps
Distributed Systems:
Server-side software and infrastructure that provides telemetry, diagnostics, over-the-air updates, and configuration/lifecycle management
Data engineering and analytics platforms that power technical and business insights for an increasingly diverse set of customers across the company
Diagnostic tools and fleet management, Manufacturing and Automation:
Automation controls (PLC, robot)
Server-side manufacturing execution systems that power all of Tesla’s production operations
Product Security and Red Team for software, services, and systems across Tesla
Bloomberg reported today that Lau told his team he is leaving Tesla. The report didn’t include reasons for his stepping down.
Electrek’s Take
Twelve years at any company is a great run. At Tesla, it’s heroic. Congrats, David, on a great run. You undoubtedly had a significant impact on Tesla and software advancements in the broader auto industry.
He is another significant loss for Tesla, which has been losing a lot of top talent following a big wave of layoffs around this time last year.
I wonder who will take over. Michael Rizkalla, senior director of software engineering and vehicle firmware, is one of the most senior software engineers after Lau. He has been at Tesla for 7 years, and Tesla likes to promote within rather than hire outsiders.
There are also a lot of senior software execs working on AI at Tesla. Musk has been favoring them lately and he could fold Lau’s responsibilities under them.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.More.
Kia’s electric SUVs are taking over. The EV3 is the best-selling retail EV in the UK this year, giving Kia its strongest sales start since it arrived 34 years ago. And it’s not just in the UK. Kia just had its best first quarter globally since it started selling cars in 1962.
Kia EV3 is the best-selling EV in the UK through March
In March, Kia sold a record nearly 20,000 vehicles in the UK, making it the fourth best-selling brand. It was also the second top-seller of electrified vehicles (EVs, PHEVs, and HEVs), accounting for over 55% of sales.
The EV3 remained the best-selling retail EV in the UK last month. Including the EV6, three-row EV9, and Niro EV, electric vehicles represented 21% of Kia’s UK sales in March.
Kia said the EV3 “started with a bang” in January, darting out as the UK’s most popular EV in retail sales. Through March, Kia’s electric SUV has held on to the crown. With the EV3 rolling out, Kia sold over 7,000 electric cars through March, nearly 50% more than in Q1 2024.
Advertisement – scroll for more content
The EV3 was the best-selling retail EV in the UK in the first quarter and the fourth best-selling EV overall, including commercial vehicles.
Kia EV3 Air 91.48 kWh in Frost Blue (Source: Kia UK)
Starting at £33,005 ($42,500), Kia said it’s the “brand’s most affordable EV yet.” It’s available with two battery packs, 58.3 kWh or 81.48 kWh, good for 430 km (270 miles) and 599 km (375 miles) of WLTP range, respectively.
From left to right: Kia EV6, EV3, and EV9 (Source: Kia UK)
With new EVs on the way, this could be just the start. Kia is launching several new EVs in the UK this year, including the EV4 sedan (and hatchback) and EV5 SUV. It also confirmed that the first PV5 electric vans will be delivered to customers by the end of the year.
Electrek’s Take
Globally, Kia sold a record 772,351 vehicles in the first quarter, its best since it started selling cars in 1962. With the new EV4, the brand’s first electric sedan and hatchback, launching this year, Kia looks to build on its momentum in 2025.
Kia has also made it very clear that it wants to be a global leader in the electric van market with its new Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV) business, starting with the PV5 later this year.
Earlier today, we learned Kia’s midsize electric SUV, the EV5, is the fourth best-selling EV in Australia through March, outselling every BYD vehicle (at least for now). The EV5 is rolling out to new markets this year, including Canada, the UK, South Korea, and Mexico. However, it will not arrive in the US.
For those in the US, there are still a few Kia EVs to look forward to. Kia is launching the EV4 globally, including in the US, later this year. Although no date has been set, Kia confirmed the EV3 is also coming. It’s expected to arrive in mid-2026.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.More.