Cryptocurrency platforms Coinbase and Kraken, crypto investment firm Paradigm Operations, blockchain company Galaxy Digital Holdings and the trading platforms Robinhood Markets and Crypto.com have all officially joined Donald Trump’s seven-figure inauguration donor club, alongside Meta, Amazon, Uber and a host of other corporate titans.
Robinhood gave $2 million, Coinbase and Paradigm each gave $1 million, Kraken gave $1 million, Crypto.com gave $1 million and Galaxy Digital Holdings contributed $1 million according to previously unreported congressional disclosures reviewed by NOTUS.
Meanwhile, new filings reveal that oil company Chevron, tobacco company Altria, telecom company Qualcomm, business software firm Intuit, pharmaceutical company Bayer Corporation, pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson, investment banking giant Goldman Sachs, media giant Comcast Corporation, the National Association of Manufacturers and retail delivery and e-commerce company Coupang, Inc. all also gave donations of $1 million or more.
Chevron led the pack with a $2 million contribution, which it made on Dec. 3, according to congressional records. Qualcomm and Intuit each contributed $1 million.
These latest donations underscore how much corporate America is attempting to curry favor with the new president by spending record amounts of money as Trump returns to power.
Coinbase’s $1 million donation gave executives access to Trump’s presidential dinner and a separate dinner honoring Vice President JD Vance, according to Coinbase vice president of U.S. policy, Kara Calvert, in response to questions from NOTUS.
Coinbase’s chief legal officer, Paul Grewal, and Calvert herself were even able to attend Trump’s swearing-in ceremony at the U.S. Capitol. The company also sponsored the widely attended “Crypto Ball.”
The crypto industry gave millions during the election, and Trump went from calling bitcoin a “scam” in 2021 to being the pro-crypto candidate.
If elected, he promised the federal government’s crypto regulations “will be written by people who love your industry, not hate your industry.”
Trump and first lady Melania Trump have since issued their own name-brand cryptocurrencies, on which they are personally profiting — to the chagrin of some crypto hawks.
And Trump last week formed a cryptocurrency working group tasked with crafting pro-crypto policies and regulations, as well as exploring the creation of a national cryptocurrency stockpile.
In an email Thursday responding to questions from NOTUS, Calvert said that Coinbase “is committed to working with the Administration and both sides of the aisle in Congress to create regulatory clarity for crypto, and it’s important to engage early in order to hit the ground running.”
She added: “That’s why Coinbase committed to supporting President Trump’s transition and ultimately his inauguration well ahead of the election. We’re eager to work with the most pro-crypto Administration in U.S. history as we build the future of crypto in America.”
Seattle-based e-commerce company Coupang — which does business in South Korea and Taiwan and is led by businessman Bom Kim, who reportedly rubbed shoulders last week with the Trump family — gave $1 million on Dec. 16. Goldman Sachs made a pair of $500,000 contributions — one on Dec. 18 and another Dec. 19.
Goldman Sachs, the investment banking giant, sometimes found itself at odds with Trump during his first term.
In 2017, for example, then-CEO Lloyd Blankfein slammed Trump’s decision to ban travelers from several Muslim-majority nations.
Goldman Sachs has been more accommodating of late, with current CEO David Solomon this month offering a rosy outlook on Trump’s economic goals.
Goldman Sachs is one of the strongest lobbying forces in Washington, having spent between $2 million and $5 million each year on federal-level lobbying efforts for the past two decades, according to nonpartisan research group OpenSecrets.
In response to several questions about Goldman Sachs’ inaugural contribution, company spokesman Tony Fratto emailed: “We’re pleased to sponsor this and future presidential inaugural committees.”
Coupang spent $2.3 million on federal-level lobbying efforts in 2024 — significantly more than ever before — with trade, export and e-commerce growth topping its political agenda, per federal records. Shilpa Hegde Ingram, a media consultant for Coupang, said the company had no comment.
New congressional records also indicate that several other corporations and trade groups, whose fortunes could soar or sink based on Trump administration-era laws and regulations, also made sizable contributions in December to Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
They include energy equipment company GE Vernova ($500,000), private prison firm The Geo Group Inc. ($500,000), solar energy company Hanwha Q Cells America ($500,000), pharmaceutical company Abbott Laboratories ($500,000), telecom company Ericsson Inc. ($500,000), International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. ($250,000), nuclear power company Oklo Inc. ($250,000), financial company PayPal ($250,000), telecom company Motorola Solutions Inc. ($250,000), healthcare facility operator HCA Healthcare, Inc. ($250,000), grocery service Instacart ($100,000), American Clean Power Association ($100,000) and government-sponsored health care company Centene Corporation ($50,000).
Representatives for Paradigm did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Nor did representatives for GE Vernova, International Flavors & Fragrances Inc., HCA Healthcare, Inc. and Centene Corporation.
In a statement to NOTUS, Ericsson said its “participation in inaugural activities, along with many other corporate representatives across technology, telecommunications, and other industries, underscores our commitment to the U.S. market.”
The company confirmed that Ericsson’s President and CEO, Börje Ekholm, attended inauguration activities, as did Yossi Cohen, head of its North America market operations.
The Trump inaugural committee did not respond to requests for comment.
The International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. contribution is notable in that Trump himself has entered the fragrance business, peddling both men’s and women’s scents for $199 a pop, including a “Victory 47” product that features a small gold statue of himself.
Record-setting inauguration haul
On Wednesday, NOTUS reported that several other corporations had made large and previously undisclosed contributions to Trump’s inauguration.
They include air conditioning and heating giant Carrier ($1 million), private prison firm CoreCivic, Inc. ($500,000), Chinese-owned agriculture subsidiary Syngenta Corporation ($250,000), cannabis company Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. ($250,000), digital identification verification company ID.me ($100,000) and digital identification certification company Socure Inc. ($100,000).
Trump allowed unlimited contributions to his inaugural committee and accepted money from any entity that could legally give, including government contractors and companies that spend large sums of money on federal-level political influence efforts.
Trump’s inaugural committee is not compelled by law to release a full accounting of Trump inauguration donors until mid-April — 90 days after the inauguration.
Even then, federal law does not require Trump’s inaugural committee, created in November as a Florida-based nonprofit corporation, to detail how it spent what’s certain to be a historically large amount of inauguration cash — potentially upward of $200 million.
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Dave Levinthal is a Washington, D.C.-based investigative journalist