New filings from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) reveal that several cryptocurrency firms and their executives made significant contributions to US President Donald Trump’s inauguration fund after the results of the 2024 election. 

According to FEC filings made public on April 20 by the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee, Uniswap CEO Hayden Adams donated more than $245,000, Solana Labs donated $1 million, and software firm Consensys sent $100,000 in January 2025 to support the then-president-elect’s inauguration. Many major crypto firms had previously announced their support of Trump through donations to the inaugural fund, including Coinbase, Ripple Labs, Kraken, Ondo Finance, and Robinhood.

Altogether, the fund reported more than $239 million in net donations between Nov. 15 and April 20 from companies and individuals. These included $1 million from McDonald’s, $1 million from Meta, $1 million from Apple CEO Tim Cook, $1 million from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and various contributions from Delta Air Lines, ExxonMobil, FedEx, Nvidia, PayPal, Target, and Coca-Cola. 

Since Trump took office on Jan. 20 and appointed Mark Uyeda as acting chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the agency has dropped multiple investigations and enforcement actions against crypto firms, including those that donated to the president’s 2024 campaign or inauguration fund. In February, Uniswap reported that the SEC had dropped its probe into the firm, and Consensys founder Joseph Lubin said the agency had agreed to end a separate lawsuit. 

Memecoins, stablecoin issuers, and future elections

Trump’s memecoin, launched on Jan. 17 on the Solana blockchain — along with his wife Melania’s, which was available a few days later — has many in the crypto industry and the US government questioning the president about conflicts of interest by capitalizing on his position. The president’s family is also behind the launch of World Liberty Financial, a crypto firm responsible for a US dollar-pegged stablecoin at a time when lawmakers are considering legislation to regulate the technology.

In addition to the Consensys case, the SEC said it intended to drop enforcement actions or investigations into Ripple, Kraken, Robinhood and Coinbase. The three firms donated a combined $9 million to the inauguration fund.

Related: Trump’s next crypto play will be Monopoly-style game — Report

The 2024 US election cycle saw crypto-backed political action committees (PACs) spending more than $131 million to influence races in crucial congressional districts. The Fairshake PAC has already said it had more than $100 million available, in part from contributions from Coinbase and Ripple, to spend on the 2026 midterms. 

Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions

Crypto casinos generated more than $81 billion in revenue in 2024, even as regulators in key jurisdictions continued to block access to the platforms, according to a new report.

Citing data from the anti-online-crime platform Yield Sec, the Financial Times reported that wagers paid in crypto in 2024 generated $81.4 billion in gross gaming revenue (GGR). This metric refers to the difference between bets taken and winnings paid out.  

Yield Sec data also showed that the annual revenue for crypto casinos has increased five times since 2022, despite gambling sites being blocked in the United States, China, the United Kingdom and the European Union. 

Crypto casino Stake rivals traditional betting platforms

Betting platform Stake reported that its GGR in 2024 was around $4.7 billion, up 80% since 2022. This puts it on a par with some of the biggest gambling groups, such as Entain and Flutter. Entain reported $5 billion, while Flutter reported $14 billion in revenue in 2024. 

Stake offers traditional casino games, including blackjack, roulette and slots. The platform also allows users to bet on sports. Users on the betting platform generally transact in crypto, with account balances being deposited and withdrawn directly into crypto wallets. 

In 2023, the crypto betting platform was hacked, with $41 million withdrawn from its wallets. On Sept. 4, 2023, security firms flagged suspicious outflows from the platform. The company then confirmed the hack through social media, saying there were unauthorized transactions from its Ethereum and BNB Chain hot wallets. 

On Sept. 7, 2023, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation said the $41 million hack was executed by the notorious North Korean hacking group Lazarus. 

Related: XRP ETF ‘obvious’ as Polymarket bettors up approval odds to 85%

Gamblers access illegal sites through VPNs

Even though crypto gambling sites are officially blocked in many jurisdictions, users can access them by bypassing geo-blocking restrictions with VPNs, which allows users to place bets on sites blocked in their country. 

Former players and crypto users told the FT that many online guides show people how to bypass geo-blocking restrictions to access a crypto gambling platform. Cointelegraph confirmed that some influencers offer online tutorials that teach people how to access blocked gambling sites. 

“Ready-to-gamble” crypto casino accounts are also reportedly being sold on social media platforms, according to Sanya Burgess, journalist at The i Paper.

Users sell accounts that have already passed through betting sites’ registration processes. On Jan. 31, Sky News reported that some users sell pre-verified crypto casino accounts for as little as $10. These ready-to-gamble accounts are reportedly sold on social media sites like Facebook.

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El Salvador, the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, is working with the computer chip giant Nvidia to implement artificial intelligence for national development.

El Salvador signed a letter of intent to collaborate with Nvidia on “sovereign AI to drive innovation and economic growth,” the National Bitcoin Office (ONBTC) of El Salvador announced on X on April 21.

As part of the collaboration, El Salvador will benefit from Nvidia’s AI tools, resources and expertise, enabling the development of sovereign AI capabilities targeting priorities related to culture, language, environment and economy.

“El Salvador will focus on building domestic AI infrastructure, upskilling the workforce, and creating solutions to address local challenges such as improving healthcare delivery, advancing education, and boosting economic productivity,” the announcement said.

AI training for state officials and developers

El Salvador’s latest collaboration with Nvidia marks the country’s commitment to encouraging AI usage to optimize multiple processes within the government and society.

With its new AI push, El Salvador intends to establish AI training programs for developers, researchers and government officials to “ensure the nation has the talent to sustain its AI ambitions.”

One example includes the creation of AI-driven models to forecast weather and rainfall, which would support emergency response, protect residents in landslide-prone areas and optimize hydroelectric power management.

Not the first AI initiative for El Salvador

El Salvador’s Nvidia partnership adds to a growing list of AI-focused initiatives.

In March 2025, the ONBTC announced Salvador’s university-level public education AI program CUBO_ai, touting it as the “only national education program bringing in top-tier field experts.” The program was announced with support from major Bitcoin bull Cathie Wood, who is expected to give the first lecture as part of the program.

Last year, Wood predicted that El Salvador’s Bitcoin (BTC) and AI plans may boost GDP tenfold by 2029.

Related: Only 11% of El Salvador’s registered Bitcoin firms operational

While El Salvador has been aggressively introducing AI initiatives, its Bitcoin ambitions have been somewhat deterred.

In early March, the International Monetary Fund moved to restrict further Bitcoin purchases by El Salvador as part of an extended $1.4 billion funding arrangement with the country. However, the government has continued stacking 1 Bitcoin a day, raising questions about the implications of the deal with the IMF.

Magazine: Your AI ‘digital twin’ can take meetings and comfort your loved ones