The crypto millionaire and founder of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried has admitted to being a “significant donor” on both sides of the political spectrum ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.
Days before the midterm elections in the United States, on November 8, SBF told its Twitter followers that it has given contributions to election campaigns on both sides of the fence.
The crypto millionaire said he has been “supporting constructive candidates to prevent gangs and bring a bipartisan climate to DC,” as well as “working with them to support finances without permission.”
SBF added that working with FTX Digital Markets co-CEO Ryan Salame, he has signed campaigns to accept cryptocurrency “and gave some, including millions to Senate and House Republicans.”
1) I was a significant donor in both D and R primaries.
Supporting constructive candidates across the aisle to prevent pandemics and bring a bipartisan climate to DC.
And working with them to support permissionless finance.
— SBF (@SBF_FTX) November 5, 2022
1) I was a major donor in both the D and R primaries. I am supporting constructive candidates to prevent pandemics and bring a bipartisan climate to DC. And I’m working with them to support permissionless funding.
Earlier this year, Cointelegraph reported that SBF was planning to spend up to $1 billion to help influence the 2024 presidential election campaigns.. His real plan is to finance the candidate who faces former President Donald Trump. In 2020, SBF donated $5.2 million to Joe Biden’s presidential campaign.
According to Open Secrets, a platform that follows money in politics, SBF is the sixth largest political contributor. The platform reports that it has made a total contribution of USD 39.8 million for the 2021-2022 cycle.
Of that total, 92% has gone to Democrats, and the rest to Republican candidates and campaigns. FTX co-CEO Salame leans to the red side of the political divide: Has donated $23.6 million to Republican campaigns for the current cycle.
The biggest political contributor was billionaire investor George Soros, who has pledged $128.5 million to Democrats. Venture capitalist billionaire Peter Thiel, who has backed several crypto firms, was ninth on the list with $32.6 million for Republicans.
Bankman-Fried also supports the Protect Our Future political action committee (PAC), which was created in January 2022 and has spent more than $9 million to support Democratic candidates.
Cryptocurrencies have become a point of contention in the midterm elections; a larger, crypto-savvy voter base now has a say. According to a recent survey by fund manager Grayscale, 38% of those surveyed “will take into account the positions of crypto politics” when choosing their candidates.
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