The Crypto Kings make big political donations. What could go wrong?
During the campaign trail, these debates and the spending of deep-pocketed donors who have a vested interest in how the federal government shapes cryptocurrency policy means that crypto-billionaire candidates get more scrutiny of their positions on crypto. Flynn and Bankman-Fried both had to beat away rumors and suspicions that the billionaire only supported Flynn because he would push for favorable crypto laws if elected to Congress. Bankman-Fried says his motivation to support Flynn, an otherwise unremarkable candidate, is based on their shared views on altruism.
Every time Bankman-Fried or another billionaire who has made his fortune in the still new and mostly unregulated industry backs a candidate, motivation arises. “You can’t help but think, yeah, they’re weighing in to curry favor with members of Congress and to influence the regulations that are being proposed right now,” said Congresswoman Carolyn Bourdeaux. BNC News in a recent interview. Bourdeaux takes on Congresswoman Lucy McBath, a fellow Democrat, in Tuesday’s primary for Georgia’s new 7th congressional district. McBath benefits from the super PAC of Bankman-Fried, which is spending $2 million to support his candidacy.
It’s still early days and the battle lines are very muddled, but it’s more than unlikely that many progressives will see crypto backers as nefarious accomplices to the wrong part of the Democratic Party. For example, earlier in the cycle of one of the most heated congressional primaries on the Democratic side to date, Bankman-Fried, through the Protect Our Future super PAC he funds, contributed $1 million. to support Shontel Brown, pretty much the establishment-backed candidate, over former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner, a longtime ally of Senator Bernie Sanders. In this race, Bankman-Fried’s preferred candidate got the nomination. To be fair, Brown was also the Democratic chairwoman for Cuyahoga County, so she had a lot of local support.
