California legalise cryptocurrency political donations, as crypto companies increase political expenditure

Important point

• Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, donated $ 2 million to political parties in 2022. This is the 27th highest amount on record. To date, he has donated a total of more than $ 21 million to Democratic candidates and PACs.
• Two more FTX executives, Ryan Salame and Nishid Singh, each donated an additional $ 1 million.
• Bankman-Fried was also one of Joe Biden’s top funders in the 2020 presidential election, but his spending in the 2024 election could reach $ 1 billion.
• Salami, however, is taking a Republican line with his money, but there seems to be no strict Republican line taken by either.
• Oregon, Michigan, and North Carolina all ban crypto-denominated donations, but more states are considering either legalizing it or introducing a framework to do so-California just before Announced a banned U-turn

Intro

FTX is working on many pots. This also applies to politics.

“Soon there’s no really effective way to make yourself happy by spending money,” FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried said in the past. “I don’t want a yacht.”

Bankman-Freid may not want flashy toys, but he wants to influence the world. This is partly reflected in many political contributions. Nothing stands out as much as Joe Biden, and the current president has received $ 5.2 million from Bankman Fried in the 2020 presidential election.

In total, he has funded various Democratic candidates and Democratic PACs in excess of $ 21 million.

What about the 2024 election? Bankman-Fried says it can spend up to $ 1 billion depending on the candidate (not the party) and the floor is likely to be “$ 100 million north.”

6) After all, I’m more interested in policy than politics, and I don’t think either party monopolizes good ideas.

My contribution may or may not be considerable. And the breakdown of their parties will depend on candidates and policies.

SBF (@SBF_FTX) May 25, 2022

California legalizes crypto donations

Many of these donations can also be made in cryptocurrencies instead of traditional fiat money. Many states do not have rules regarding the legality of donating to politicians in cryptocurrencies, but some states, such as Washington, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Ohio and Georgia, have already fully legalized it. ..

However, the map below shows that some states are moving in the opposite direction as California, Oregon, Michigan, and North Carolina have completely banned cryptocurrency political contributions. However, during the writing of this article, California began to legalize donations. So, in the graph below, there will soon be another legalized state.

FTX, which is deeply involved in politics

Bankman-Fried is not the only donor in the crypto. He is not the only one in FTX.Look at the donations so far 2022, Opensecret.org has Bankman-Fried on the 27th and has $ 2 million in funding. However, two more FTX executives (Ryan Salame and Nishid Singh) each donated another $ 1 million, ranking 44th overall.

Despite the fall in cryptocurrency prices this year, it is very mainstream and perhaps nothing more symbolizes it than increased political involvement. Combining only these three FTX donors, this year’s exchange ranks 14th overall in the ranks of political donors.

Interestingly, Salami’s funding appears to be Republican-led, investing in the American Dream federal action in May, in contrast to FTX colleague Bankman Fried’s Democratic support. is. Even Bankman-Fried, as he claimed above, is clearly not strictly party-led, as he has made small donations to conservative candidates in the past.

Indeed, the cryptocurrency gap between Democrats and the Republic is fascinating, and the latter seems to be more embracing the industry as Democrats are worried about money laundering, environmental damage and investor exploitation.

Similar to past elections

Cryptocurrencies were orders of magnitude smaller in previous presidential elections, but the increasing use of crypto as a means of donation is reminiscent of past elections.

Donald Trump is famous for harnessing the power of social media, especially Twitter, in his shocking victory in 2016, but Obama was enthusiastic about smartphone technology four years ago. These new ways to instill technology in your campaigns can be a good route to win voters, especially the younger generation, or perhaps those who are less likely to vote in other ways.

Polarization

Cryptocurrency remains a highly polarized issue, and denialists argue that it’s a hype epidemic and nothing more than a get-rich-quick scam, but proponents say blockchain technology makes the world a better place. It says it can be a fairer and more equitable place.

So it’s not surprising that it’s starting to get more and more cryptographically tied. We’ve seen certain politicians, such as President El Salvador, Mayor of Miami, and Mayor of New York, enthusiastically embrace technology, but others are calling for suppression of technology. For example, China has banned it altogether. ..

As the industry continues to grow, despite the recent price slump, cryptocurrency regulations and politicians’ attitudes towards the industry are becoming more and more important, especially when political contributions from FTX begin to spread to other parts of the industry. Will be.

However, legalizing crypto-denominated donations is an easy victory for lawmakers, and it is expected that more states will soon follow California. We won’t delve into the more complex regulatory issues surrounding the industry, but we still encourage cryptocurrency indigenous peoples to donate.

sauce

https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/summ.php?disp=D

https://decrypt.co/47292/one-of-joe-bidens-biggest-donors-runs-a-cryptocurrency-exchange

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