SBF has been a ‘significant donor’ in US midterm elections

Crypto billionaire and FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried have admitted to being a “significant donor” to both sides of the political spectrum ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.

Days ahead of the U.S. midterm elections on Nov. 8, SBF told his Twitter followers that he has given contributions to electoral campaigns on both sides of the fence.

The crypto billionaire said that he has been “supporting constructive candidates across the aisle to prevent pandemics and bring a bipartisan climate to DC,” as well as “working with them to support permissionless finance.”

SBF added that working with FTX Digital Markets co-CEO Ryan Salame, he has signed up campaigns to accept crypto “and gave some, including millions to Senate and House Republicans.”

1) I was a significant donor in both D and R primaries.

Supporting constructive candidates across the aisle to prevent pandemics and bring a bipartisan climate to DC.

And working with them to support permissionless finance.

— SBF (@SBF_FTX) November 5, 2022

Earlier this year, Cointelegraph reported that SBF was planning to spend up to a billion dollars to help influence 2024 presidential election campaigns. His real plan is to bankroll the candidate running against former president Donald Trump. In 2020, SBF donated $5.2 million to the Joe Biden presidential campaign.

According to Open Secrets, a platform following the money in politics, SBF is the sixth largest political contributor. The platform reports that he has made a total contribution of $39.8 million for the 2021-2022 cycle.

Of that total, 92% has gone to the Democrats with the remainder going to Republican candidates and campaigns. FTX co-CEO Salame favors the red side of the political divide, donating $23.6 million to Republican campaigns for the current cycle.

The top political contributor was billionaire investor George Soros who has pledged $128.5 million to the democrats. Billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel, who has backed several crypto startups, was ninth on the list with $32.6 million for the Republicans.

Related: US Election update: Where do the pro-crypto candidates stand ahead of the election?

Bankman-Fried also backs the political action committee (PAC) Protect Our Future, which was set up in January 2022 and has spent more than $9 million to support Democrat candidates.

Crypto has become a point of contention in the midterms with a larger tech and crypto-savvy voter base now having a say. According to a recent survey by fund manager Grayscale, 38% of respondents will be “considering crypto policy positions” when choosing their candidates.