Coinbase, Ripple among crypto titans donating to Trump's new White House ballroom

Crypto heavyweights —  including Ripple, Coinbase, Tether, and Gemini founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss — are reportedly among a list of donors contributing to President Donald Trump's new White House ballroom. 

According to multiple news outlets, major tech companies such as Apple, Comcast, Google, and Microsoft are also on the list of contributors. It is currently unclear how much each corporation or individual donated.

The White House announced the construction of the ballroom in July describing it as a 90,000 total square foot addition that could seat 650 people. The project began in September 2025 and reportedly costs $300 million. It has also sparked criticism after the East Wing of the White House was demolished, and questions over how the administration managed the process. 

In a statement earlier this week, the White House pushed back and called criticism the "latest instance of manufactured outrage, unhinged leftists and their Fake News allies are clutching their pearls over President Donald J. Trump’s visionary addition of a grand, privately funded ballroom to the White House."

Trump has received donations from the crypto industry over the past year. In August, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss donated 18 bitcoins to a pro-Trump political action committee. In January, Circle, Ripple, and Coinbase donated funds to Trump's inaugural committee. 

The crypto industry played a significant role in the 2024 elections when Trump was elected, with millions of dollars going toward key races. Fairshake, for example, raised over $200 million in the election cycle to put behind key races, according to Open Secrets, with funding coming from large crypto firms, including Ripple and Coinbase. As a result, Washington D.C. has what some call the most pro-crypto Congress yet and support from the top. 

On Thursday, Trump issued a controversial pardon for former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, who previously served four months in prison related to his exchange's lax anti-money laundering controls.