Sam Bankman Fried Announces Substantial Donations in US Mid-Term Elections

FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has revealed that he donated millions of dollars to support bipartisan politicians in a bid to lure more crypto allies. 

In a Saturday tweet, Bankman-Fried said that he was “a significant donor” in both Republican and Democrat primaries, “supporting constructive candidates across the aisle to prevent pandemics and bring a bipartisan climate to DC.”

The billionaire also revealed that he has signed up for campaigns to accept crypto and give them to politicians, of course, if they accept it. “If you want to contribute crypto, reach out to your elected officials and ask if they accept it; FTX is happy to sign them up!” he said. 

The announcement comes just days after SBF referred to his statement regarding his plans to spend up to or even more than $1 billion in political donations in the run-up to the 2024 United States presidential election as a “dumb quote,” saying that he was careless.

Bankman-Fried has already spent almost $40 million on political action committees and campaigns this year, the bulk of it going to the Democratic party and its candidates. He was one of the single largest donors behind Joe Biden’s successful 2020 presidential campaign.

Crypto Executives Ramp Up Donations Ahead of Mid-Term Elections

Crypto executives and crypto companies have substantially increased their political spending ahead of the midterm elections, betting that a friendlier Congress will help shield it from a regulatory crackdown.

As per a report by the Wall Street Journal, crypto firms have poured a whopping $73 million into the 2022 elections, up from $13 million in the 2020 cycle. Furthermore, the industry spent $15 million on lobbying in the first nine months of this year, more than in the previous eight years combined.

After Democratic megadonor George Soros’s firm and cardboard box manufacturer Uline, SBF’s FTX has become the third-largest source of 2022 campaign contributions.

“These midterms are the most important elections for this crypto community,” said Hermine Wong, a policy director at Coinbase, the largest U.S. crypto-trading platform. “We believe that the legislators who will be coming in this cycle will be able to finally draft legislation to govern this space.”

Notably, there are already some crypto allies in Congress. For instance, members of Congress from both parties have put forward bills that the crypto industry would like to see pass. 

As reported, US Senators Patrick Toomey and Kyrsten Sinema teamed up in late July to push the exemption from tax requirements for crypto users making small investments or purchases, each of up to $50.