Ripple, Tether join tech donors backing Trump’s $300m White House fundraiser

Major cryptocurrency firms Ripple, Coinbase, and Tether have emerged as key backers of pro-crypto initiatives in ￰0￱ tech giants, these companies are pledging millions toward funding President Donald Trump’s $300 million White House ballroom ￰1￱ move highlights deepening crypto ties to the US political infrastructure, a connection that was already visible during the 2024 general election. However, not all observers are supportive, and the donations have raised eyebrows. Trump’s mega White House ballroom According to a BBC report , Trump is planning a 90,000-square-foot (8,360 sq m) ballroom, which officials say will not use taxpayer ￰2￱ ornate structure is already under construction on the East Wing grounds, with groundbreaking having begun earlier this ￰3￱ House officials say the $300 million project will be fully privately funded through the Trust for the National Mall ￰4￱ ballroom is intended to host state dinners and other events, replacing costly South Lawn ￰5￱ has pledged personal contributions and touted the venue’s longevity for future ￰6￱ he insists no taxpayer dollars will be used, the donor list has raised eyebrows, with critics warning it could serve as a pay-for-play route to the ￰7￱ firms bolster elite donor list Trump’s new White House ballroom has a donor roster that features around 40 prominent corporations and ￰8￱ it blends Silicon Valley powerhouses with defense and energy players, also prominent are companies from across the burgeoning crypto ￰9￱ list of tech giants includes major players such as Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Apple, and HP ￰10￱ early September, Trump hosted several tech titans at a White House ￰11￱ defense companies are Lockheed Martin and Palantir.

T-Mobile, tobacco firm Altria Group Inc., and railroad operator Union Pacific are also part of the heavyweight donor group. Crypto’s presence stands out with Ripple, Tether and ￰12￱ is the company behind the XRP cryptocurrency and Ripple USD stablecoin, while Tether is contributing via Tether America, the US arm of the world’s top stablecoin provider behind ￰13￱ joins the elite list too, having attended an October 15 donor ￰14￱ crypto advocates include Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, as well as Charles and Marissa Cascarilla of crypto bank ￰15￱ point to ‘pay-to-play’ fears Crypto companies pledging millions of dollars to the infrastructure project comes amid Trump’s continued positive nod to the ￰16￱ Thursday, October 23, the US president pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, adding to a list of similar orders since taking office for a second term in ￰17￱ the industry has welcomed the move, ethical concerns have only ￰18￱ Bush ethics counsel Richard Painter has called it an “ethics nightmare,” warning of a “pay-to-play” outlook.

“It’s using access to the White House to raise money,” Painter told ￰19￱ corporations all want something from the ￰20￱ Tarlov @JessicaTarlov · Follow Donald Trump is building a ballroom twice the size of the White ￰21￱ says it’s “his money,” but it’s really from companies chasing favors. Meanwhile, farmers can’t sell soybeans and the government’s shut ￰22￱ isn’t what Americans voted ￰23￱ on Twitter View replies 2:16 am · 23 Oct 2025 42.6K Reply Copy link Read 7.6K replies Overall criticism has also touched on the pro-crypto stance of Trump’s ￰24￱ the previous Biden administration, the crypto space complained of an anti-crypto stance, and many firms in the sector that are now cozying up to Trump were largely unwelcome in ￰25￱ Ripple, Tether, Coinbase, and their peers are now among the top players benefiting from an amplified lobbying presence.