FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has stated he may donate over $100 million within the subsequent US presidential election, including that he has a delicate ceiling of $1 billion.
This potential donation was revealed in a Podcast Interview with Jacob Goldstein on the Pushkin Industries podcast.
The crypto billionaire stated he could be spending near a billion if the previous president of america, Donald Trump, determined to run once more. If he makes good on his phrases, he would be the most important political donor ever in an election.
Is SBF ready to spend $1 billion?
Whereas talking on the What’s Your Drawback podcast, he talked about that the political panorama would decide his political plans. In his phrases,
“I might guess north of $100 million. As for a way rather more than that, I don’t know. It actually does depend upon what occurs. It’s actually depending on precisely who’s operating the place for what.”
When requested how a lot he would spend on a candidate contesting in opposition to former President Trump, he confirmed that he might be spending as much as $1 billion.
“[$1 billion] is an honest factor to take a look at as a — I might hate to say laborious ceiling, as a result of who is aware of what’s going to occur between every now and then — however a minimum of kind of as a delicate ceiling.”
In accordance with the marketing campaign finance tracker OpenSecrets web site, electoral donations may have an “unhealthy affect” over the US elections and authorities politics.
A donation of this magnitude would place SBF within the realm of mega-donors just like the Adelsons, Michael Bloomberg, and the Koch brothers.
Bankman-Fried is likely one of the wealthiest males in crypto and is estimated to be value over $20 billion. He donated $5.2 million to President Joe Biden’s marketing campaign for workplace.
Why SBF needs to fund election in opposition to Trump
SBF’s intention to spend extra if former president Donald Trump ought to run for workplace shouldn’t be fully shocking given the previous president’s stance in the direction of the crypto trade.
Trump, on numerous events, has described cryptocurrencies as a rip-off throughout his time period in workplace and even after leaving.
Final yr, he reportedly stated that Bitcoin looks as if a rip-off and that he doesn’t prefer it as a result of it’s one other foreign money competing in opposition to the US greenback.
So Trump searching for re-election would pose a big downside for the crypto trade the place Bankman-Fried and his firm is a significant stakeholder.