Kraken crypto exchange has pledged a $2 million donation to pro-Trump political action committees (PACs) to promote crypto privacy rights. The donation will be split between the Digital Freedom Fund PAC and America First Digital.
Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Kraken, made remarks on Tuesday, confirming that $1 million will go to the Digital Freedom Fund PAC and the remaining will be committed to America First Digital. According to him, the donations will boost Republican efforts to shape constitutional freedoms around cryptocurrency ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Sethi describes crypto as a “peaceful revolution” tied to privacy
Arjun Sethi, Kraken co-CEO, believes that self-determination directly relates to Bitcoin’s origin, calling cryptocurrency’s ideals an extension of the Bill of Rights embedded in code. He highlighted that Kraken supports the right to self-custody assets, build decentralized systems without permission, operate out of surveillance-based finance, and access open, composable infrastructure.
“The fight for crypto in the United States is far from over. Congress has made real progress. Market structure bills are advancing. The tone in Washington is shifting from fear to understanding. But the foundations of open financial systems are still under threat.“
–Arjun Sethi, Kraken Co-CEO
Kraken CEO Sethi described crypto’s origins as both technical and philosophical. He cited the 2008 Satoshi-published Bitcoin whitepaper, which wasn’t just a technical breakthrough but a philosophical one, too. He called it a peaceful revolution that allowed people to hold value, transact freely, and operate parallel to systems of arbitrary control.
Sethi believes crypto embodies deeply American principles, including privacy, self-determination, and permissionless innovation. He tied the ideals to the U.S. Constitution, calling them an extension of the Bill of Rights rendered in code. He then warned of regulatory threats such as uncertainty, enforcement by headline, and attempts to criminalize infrastructure and bans on privacy tools, calling them constitutional issues. He argued that the issues amount to constitutional questions about how financial freedom fits into a free society.
DFF and AFD PACs emerge as the GOP’s pro-crypto political engines
The Digital Freedom Fund (DFF) PAC, which has received $1 million in donations, was launched in August with a $21 million Bitcoin donation by the Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. The Freedom Fund PAC explicitly backs Republicans and aims to advance Trump’s crypto agenda.
On the other hand, America First Digital (AFD) is led by Jason Thielman, a former executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and Kristin Walker, a former Chief of Staff to Senator Cynthia Lummis. Senator Lummis has been a leading advocate for pro-crypto legislation. In March, she reintroduced the Bitcoin Act, which allows the U.S. strategic reserve to purchase $80 billion in Bitcoin.
Cryptopolitan reported in July that Lummis introduced a crypto tax bill to end double taxation and clarify the treatment of staking, mining, and lending transactions. The legislation proposed an exemption for crypto transactions and capital gains under $300, capped at $5,000 annually, and also exempted crypto lending agreements and charitable donations from taxation. She insisted on modernizing U.S. tax codes, saying the bill ensures Americans can participate in the digital economy without facing inadvertent tax violations.
Kraken’s donation follows federal scrutiny of privacy tools. The developers behind Bitcoin mixer Samourai Wallet and Ethereum-based Tornado Cash are on the brink of criminal charges for allegedly facilitating money laundering activities. Industry experts have expressed concerns over the possible criminalization of core blockchain infrastructure.
A wave of PACs spreading funds across political parties ahead of the midterm elections in 2026 highlights a shift towards ideological positioning that shapes the future of digital assets as a constitutional struggle. Tyler Winklevoss publicly endorsed the donation, strengthening the solidarity among major exchanges and investors.
Other PACs, such as Fairshake, raised nearly $300 million in 2024 from Coinbase, Ripple, and Andreessen Horowitz, spending across both political parties to keep digital assets from becoming a partisan wedge issue.
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Source: https://www.cryptopolitan.com/kraken-pledges-2m-to-pro-trump-pacs/