Ripple CLO Donates 624,000 XRP to Donald Trump

Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer (CLO) Stuart Alderoty donates 624,000 XRP to former U.S. President Donald Trump’s presidential election campaign. 

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According to FOX Business journalist Eleanor Terrett, the Ripple CLO donated $300,000 worth of XRP to the Republican presidential candidate, citing data from blockchain analytic platform Bread Crumb. 

🚨NEW: According to @AppBreadcrumbs, @Ripple’s General Counsel @s_alderoty donated $300K in $XRP to @realDonaldTrump.

— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) July 25, 2024

Notably, the data accompanying the report suggests that Alderoty made the donation on June 11, 2024. However, the donation became public knowledge yesterday following a report from the pro-crypto journalist Terrett. 

Alderoty’s 624,000 XRP Donation Converted to USDC

Further details about the transaction indicate that Alderoty specifically sent 624,000 XRP to Trump’s campaign, which was later converted to USDC, one of the world’s largest stablecoin. 

This indicates that the 624,000 XRP were converted to USDC at an average cost of $0.48 per coin. James Delmore, a former FOX news analyst, suggested that President Trump’s campaign commonly converted all crypto donations to USDC. 

@ScamDetective5 the photo shows: @s_alderoty sent 624,000 #xrp to Trump’s campaign, not USDC. The XRP was converted into USDC worth $300k. This is the process used in other crypto donations to the Trump Campaign. @AppBreadcrumbs shows the process here: https://t.co/eGxV5vkg87

— James Delmore (@JamesDelmore1) July 26, 2024

The move was implemented to retain the value of all crypto donations in the event of massive price swings, mostly associated with digital currencies. 

Why Crypto Stakeholders Are Supporting Trump 

It is unsurprising that the Ripple CLO has endorsed Trump in the upcoming U.S. presidential election, which is scheduled for November 5, 2024.  

Contrary to the Democratic Party’s handling of crypto under the Biden administration, Trump has promised unwavering support for the industry. The former U.S. president is scheduled to attend and speak at the ongoing Bitcoin Conference to demonstrate his support for crypto. 

Apparently, Alderoty believes that the former U.S. president could pave the way for the much-needed regulatory clarity for crypto. Besides the Ripple CLO, other crypto heavyweights have also donated huge amounts of cryptos to Trump’s presidential campaign. 

Trump Campaign Receives Over $4M in Crypto Donations 

It bears mentioning that Trump’s campaign started accepting crypto donations on May 21, 2024. As of yesterday, the campaign has received over $4 million in BTC, ETH, XRP, and other cryptocurrencies, which were converted to USDC. 

Last month, Gemini founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss donated $1 million each in BTC, totaling $2 million to Trump.

I also just donated $1 million in bitcoin (15.47 BTC) to @realDonaldTrump and will be voting for him in November.

Here’s the TL;DR — President Trump is:

Pro-Bitcoin
Pro-Crypto
Pro-Business

And he will put an end to the Biden Administration's war on crypto. Onward! https://t.co/r6iDP7BdbE

— Cameron Winklevoss (@cameron) June 20, 2024

However, the campaign returned some of the funds to the brothers since it exceeded the maximum legal amount of $844,600. 

Jesse Powell of Kraken crypto exchange also donated $1 million worth of ETH to support Trump’s presidential ambitions. 

I just personally donated $1m (mostly #ETH) to @realDonaldTrump.

For too long, the crypto industry has been under attack by Elizabeth Warren, Gary Gensler and others. Despite overwhelming bipartisan Congressional efforts to put clear rules in place, the Biden White House has… pic.twitter.com/Ksxf3P2oCb

— Jesse Powell (@jespow) June 28, 2024

Furthermore, BitGo CEO Mike Belshe donated $50,000 in BTC, while Messari co-founder Ryan Selkis made a donation of $50,000 in USDC, according to a report from The Shib Daily. 

Other prominent crypto enthusiasts have also sent crypto donations to Trump ahead of the upcoming election.