“I’m not sure yet that all the political dollars are being coordinated in a truly coherent and efficient way to maximize their impact, but they still have a little bit of time to figure that out,” he said.
In a May 27 interview, Bankman-Fried says he’s undeterred by Flynn’s loss. The 30-year-old billionaire added that while it’s unlikely to reach that level, he could spend as much as $1 billion on the 2024 presidential election. Bankman-Fried said his political agenda extends well-beyond crypto regulation, and his spending is now primarily focused on pandemic preparedness.
“We weren’t prepared for Covid -- it cost us tens of trillions of dollars and millions of lives -- and we’re still not prepared for the next pandemic,” he said.
Bankman-Fried and his trading firm Alameda Research combined to give $10.2 million to a super PAC that backed Joe Biden in the 2020 election. And the Biden Victory Fund, which raised money for his campaign and the Democratic National Committee, got a $50,000 contribution from him.
Meanwhile, donors are also seeking to boost GOP candidates. Ryan Salame, who’s also an executive at FTX, has given $5.7 million -- most of it to groups that back Republicans, the FEC data show. He’s given $4 million as the only donor to American Dream Federal Action, a super PAC that’s backing Republican congressional candidates.
The surge in spending comes as calls in Washington for tighter rules on the crypto market grow louder after a popular token melted down last month, fueling a broader selloff in the asset class. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, is down more than 50% from its all-time high in November.
“This industry has come out of nowhere to spend a significant amount of money on politics,” Dan Auble, a senior researcher at OpenSecrets, said of crypto.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.