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Bill Allison
Political donations from cryptocurrency brokers, venture capitalists and investors doubled to at least $52 million through the end of May from the first 15 months of the current, two-year midterm election cycle.
Political donations from crypto enthusiasts jumped even as the collapse of the TerraUSD stablecoin led to plunging prices and increased scrutiny of the industry in May.
Ryan Salame, co-Chief Executive Officer of crypto exchange FTX gave American Dream Federal Action $8 million in May, bringing his total contribution to $12 million. American Dream Federal Action has spent $7.6 million backing Republicans. Salame is the super PAC’s sole donor, the latest filings with the Federal Election Commission show.
His colleague, Sam Bankman-Fried, donated $500,000 to the Senate Majority PAC, which supports Democrats. Through May, he’s given $32.5 million to super PACs, making him one of the top donors to political groups other than the parties, though his May total dropped significantly from the $16 million he gave in April.
GMI PAC, the crypto industry’s unofficial super PAC, got $1 million contributions from the co-founders of Andreessen Horowitz, Marc Andreessen and Benjamin Horowitz. Multicoin Capital managing partners Tushar Jain and Pyahm Samani each gave $125,000. The super PAC funnels its money to another committee, Web3 Forward, which has spent $2.6 million backing Democratic candidates.
Even before the meltdown in value, Congress and President Joe Biden’s administration had been looking at ways to regulate the highly volatile sector.
Protect Our Future, the super PAC that’s gotten $23 million from Bankman-Fried, comprising 96% of the money it’s raised, didn’t receive any money in May. But it spent $4.1 million backing Democratic candidates and ended the month with $3 million cash on hand.
Among the biggest beneficiaries of Salame’s donations is Representative Rodney Davis, who is facing off against fellow Illinois Republican Representative Mary Miller in a newly drawn district. American Dream has spent $1.3 backing Davis. Miller is endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
Salame’s super PAC has backed some candidates who Trump has endorsed. American Dream spent $1.2 million promoting Senator John Boozman, an Arkansas Republican, heavily favored to win re-election. It spent $517,000 promoting Representative Ted Budd, a Republican who won the primary for North Carolina’s open Senate seat. American Dream also spent $705,000 on Idaho’s Representative Mike Simpson, also a Republican.
American Dream has also spent $1.3 million supporting Katie Britt, a Republican former aide to retiring Alabama Senator Richard Shelby who’s facing off against Representative Mo Brooks in a primary runoff Tuesday. Trump is backing Britt after withdrawing his support for Brooks in March.
