SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell pledged to donate SpaceX stock to roughly 2 million Trump Accounts, while bitcoin rebounded 1.8% after President Trump called himself "a big crypto guy" at a Monday press conference.
SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell announced Monday she would donate shares of her personal SpaceX holdings to the Trump Accounts program, joining a growing roster of executives and billionaires pledging support for the government-backed children's investment initiative.
The gift — which includes stock held by Shotwell and her husband — will be distributed across roughly 2 million Trump Accounts, with what Shotwell described as "a bit more emphasis" on children living near her family's home in central Texas, she wrote in a post on X.
"We have been fortunate in our careers and hope this gift encourages the next generation to continue the journey of enabling humanity to live and fly amongst the stars," Shotwell wrote.
Shotwell is one of SpaceX's largest individual shareholders, with a stake valued at roughly $2.4 billion following a record-breaking IPO last month.
The announcement comes days after President Donald Trump told CNBC's Joe Kernen on Thursday that he expected SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to donate company stock to the program.
The tax-deferred 530A accounts officially launched on July 4 and include a $1,000 initial deposit from the U.S. Treasury Department for babies born between 2025 and 2028.
Brad Gerstner, founder of Altimeter Capital and a primary architect of the Trump Accounts program, called Shotwell's pledge an "extraordinary gift." "It shows the flexibility of this platform," Gerstner said. "This is not a program, this is a platform. It is the largest unlock of direct philanthropy in the history of the country."
The program has drawn support from multiple corners of the technology and finance sectors. Intel, Robinhood, and Micron have each offered to match the government's $1,000 contribution for eligible children of their employees. In a separate announcement last week, Micron also pledged $250 million, including seed deposits for children's accounts in communities where the company operates.
Michael and Susan Dell had committed $6.25 billion to the program in December, aimed at supporting children age 10 or under in ZIP codes with a median household income of $150,000 or less.
Separately on Monday, bitcoin recovered from an intraday decline after Trump voiced public support for cryptocurrency at a news conference.
"Well ... I've become a big crypto guy," Trump said, responding to a reporter's question about whether bitcoin might be added to Trump Accounts.
The flagship cryptocurrency was last trading at $63,853.85, up 1.8% on the day, after having fallen more than 2% earlier in the session.
The earlier drop followed a regulatory filing from Strategy — formerly MicroStrategy — disclosing that the firm had sold approximately $216 million worth of bitcoin in two separate tranches. Strategy sold roughly $80.8 million worth of bitcoin at an average price of $59,256 per token between June 29 and 30, and an additional $135.5 million in transactions from July 1 to 5. The company's holdings now stand at 843,775 bitcoin, valued at around $52.1 billion, with an average cost-per-token of $75,476.
Barclays analyst Ajay Rajadhyaksha said the sales marked a meaningful shift for the company. "Strategy's entire investment thesis was built on a public promise never to sell," Rajadhyaksha wrote in a note to clients. "When they sold — even a minuscule amount — and then announced a new policy framework allowing further sales for 'capital allocation purposes,' it was a significant hit to sentiment."
Cantor analyst Ramsey El-Assal offered a different read, framing the sales as a move to stabilize Strategy's preferred stock, STRC, which he called the company's "center of gravity." "We fully expect the company to do whatever it takes to lift STRC to par, and we believe the Street should expect frequent, periodic actions," El-Assal wrote.
Shares of Strategy rose 1% on Monday, while STRC gained nearly 3%, though the preferred stock continued to trade below its $100 par level.
Trump's public endorsement of crypto, combined with the broader rollout of the Trump Accounts platform, signals that the administration views the initiative as an expandable vehicle for both private philanthropy and long-term retail investment — with questions about which asset classes may ultimately be permitted still drawing scrutiny from markets and policy observers alike.
TechEchelon Staff bylines are produced collectively by the newsroom for short, breaking, and wire-style coverage. Longer-form reporting is published under the responsible reporter's name.
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