Sam Bankman-Fried stormed on to the US political scene with multimillion-dollar donations that led lawmakers, particularly Democrats, to believe he was ushering in the next generation of donors. But in a matter of days, his business empire collapsed into bankruptcy and the prospect of millions more in donations evaporated.
Before the fall of Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency exchange FTX, the entrepreneur had emerged as the second-largest donor to Democrats after George Soros. He had vowed to give up to $1bn to political candidates linked to causes he supported, a pledge from which he later backed away.
He also became one of the most prominent crypto representatives in Washington, supporting digital asset legislation and hiring former regulators as advisers.
Bradley Beychok, co-founder of the Democratic super political action committee (Pac) American Bridge 21st Century, said Bankman-Fried “came on the scene out of nowhere [and] became a large supporter of different causes and candidates very quickly,” adding that he had built an “organised campaign”.
But a liquidity crisis that has forced the 30-year-old’s $32bn business empire into bankruptcy has erased a potential pool of funds linked to a seemingly reliable player in an often volatile industry.
“Sam didn’t live up to his commitments,” said one Democratic lobbyist working in the crypto space. Bankman-Fried’s grand spending promises had been “more bluster than action”, the lobbyist added.
