One major donor in the 2022 midterms has had an absolutely awful week financially, according to a new report from Forbes magazine.
"Crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried burst onto the political giving scene this election cycle, becoming the second largest billionaire donor to Democratic causes," the magazine reported. "Altogether he gave $39.9 million, including $35 million to three different political action committees. Two of his deputies at FTX, his cryptocurrency exchange–gave nearly $29 million more. But that giving looks awfully profligate now, following a single tweet Tuesday morning by the world’s richest crypto billionaire, Changpeng Zhao (aka CZ), founder and CEO of crypto exchange Binance."
The magazine reported CZ is acquiring FTX to fix "a significant liquidity crunch.
"The estimated 176 million FTX Tokens held by Bankman-Fried through his stake in his Alameda Research trading firm, worth $3.9 billion on Monday, had lost nearly 80% of their value as of 3 pm eastern time Tuesday afternoon, shaving nearly $3.1 billion off Bankman-Fried’s net worth," the magazine reported. "Bankman-Fried has supported Republicans during this cycle, primarily through his $2 million contribution to the blockchain and cryptocurrency-focused GMI super PAC. But the bulk of his giving, including $27 million to the Protect Our Future super PAC and $6 million to the House Majority super PAC, has gone to support Democrats."
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Bankman-Fried directed $9 million to Oregon congressional candidate Carrick Flynn in a race that created a rift between some Oregon Democrats and Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
According to The New York Times, "the emergency deal making highlighted the persistent instability of the crypto industry, which was buffeted this spring by a $2 trillion crash that drained the savings of many amateur investors. That downturn destabilized some of crypto’s biggest firms, though FTX was by far the largest casualty."
