Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was convicted last week, with a New York court ruling on 34 felony charges. Surprisingly, this has led to a surge of voter support in the form of small donations, raising $200 million and outpacing the campaign of current President Joe Biden. Trump has also launched Bitcoin Lightning Network donations, accepting contributions as low as $500.
According to the renowned financial blog ZeroHedge, since the verdict in Trump’s New York “hush money” case, his campaign has raised over $200 million. Of this, $70 million came from small donors, with 30% of the total being first-time political campaign contributors.
Eric Trump, Donald Trump’s son, stated, “What I mean is, these Americans are very angry.”
“They showed up out of nowhere to support someone they believe is being deceived by the system.”
“We saw this during the first impeachment, during the second impeachment, and we see them weaponizing every liberal district attorney and attorney general across the country with the sole purpose of taking him down, defaming him, ruining his reputation, trying to break his family, bankrupt him, throw him in jail, you name it,” he added.
“America has seen through this. They clearly understand what’s happening.”
The Post Millennial noted that Trump’s $200 million was raised in just three days, far exceeding any amount the Biden campaign has raised in a similar timeframe.
In the 24 hours following Trump’s conviction, his campaign received $53 million in donations. The Biden campaign, in comparison, raised $51 million throughout April.
According to a statement from Trump campaign officials Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita released last weekend, “Biden and his Democratic allies have turned our judicial system into a political tool, and Americans nationwide have had enough.”
The statement added, “This momentum is just beginning, and as President Trump has said, Americans will deliver the real verdict on November 5th.”
Notably, Trump has officially launched the Bitcoin Lightning Network, accepting cryptocurrency donations with a minimum of $500.
A statement from the Trump campaign noted that donations can be made using any cryptocurrency accepted by the Coinbase Commerce product.
According to the website, the accepted cryptocurrencies include Bitcoin, Ethereum, SOL, USDC, XRP, ZRX, and even meme coins like Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB).
The Trump campaign is collaborating with leading Bitcoin and Lightning Network infrastructure provider OpenNode to facilitate these donations. Supporters can now use Bitcoin via the Lightning Network to donate to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, utilizing a technology designed for fast, low-cost transactions.