The Perfect Trio: FTX, Democrats, Ukraine
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The Perfect Trio: FTX, Democrats, Ukraine
The Democrats brought the US economy to new lows, foreign invasion, more violence, and leaving Americans with less money in their pockets, yet they found themselves with record-breaking donations?
Sam Bankman-Fried (or SBF) impacted the cryptocurrency world and political stage—this kid came out of nowhere. In the cryptocurrency industry, this wouldn’t strike anyone as an anomaly, but several things would, and losing $16 billion in days will get people’s attention.
However, before losing his fortune, another way to raise eyebrows is by becoming a rapid megadonor in the political world. SBF’s immediate interest and high contributions to politics were perfect timing for The Democrat Party as midterms were looming.
After Biden and the Democrats brought the US economy to new lows, permitting foreign invasion, encouraging violence across the nation, and leaving Americans with less money in their pockets, it was near confident that donations for midterms would be minimal. Surprisingly, the opposite occurred as Democrats had a record-breaking year for midterm fundraising.
Who is Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF)?
In 1992, Sam Bankman-Fried, also known as SBF, was born in California to an academic and politically connected family. Sam’s mother, Barbara Fried, is a lawyer and the co-founder of multiple fundraising organizations, including one called Mind the Gap, that helps raise Silicon Valley cash for Democrats. Sam’s father, Joseph Bankman, is a law professor at Stanford Law School and has previously drafted tax legislation for Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass).
In 2014, Sam graduated from MIT with a degree in physics. He later worked at a New York trading firm Jane Street Capital where he discovered a lucrative loophole when he would purchase Bitcoin in America, then sell it in Japan for a higher price.
What is Alameda Research?
In 2017, SBF used earnings at Jane Street to start his own company, Alameda Research–a company made up mainly of Sam's friends and former work colleagues. This group of young misfits often kept high-level management in the dark about what they were doing.
“Kind of a little clique, just a bunch of degenerate kids at the end of the day”
– Former FTX Employee on Sam and friends who ran the business
What exactly did Alameda Research do? The business was a crypto hedge fund that carried out trades, matched buyers and sellers, and provided investors a supposed return.
What is FTX?
In 2019, a couple of years after starting Alameda Research, Sam began a new cryptocurrency exchange business called FTX. The following quote is a snippet from the company’s mission statement:
“…a cryptocurrency exchange built by traders, for traders. FTX offers innovative products including industry-first derivatives, options, volatility products, and leveraged tokens….”
In a nutshell, it was a place to store and exchange cryptocurrencies and tokens at no cost. However, the firm would incentivize clients who kept their money in a token called FTT—a token made by FTX.
FTX’s Downfall
After FTX was established, a 2019 promotional document raised eyebrows to get people in the door. Alameda promised 15% annualized fixed rate returns with no downside—an impossibly good offer.
As later reported by The Wall Street Journal:
“FTX Chief Executive Sam Bankman-Fried said in investor meetings this week that Alameda owes FTX about $10 billion, people familiar with the matter said. FTX extended loans to Alameda using money that customers had deposited on the exchange for trading purposes, a decision that Mr. Bankman-Fried described as a poor judgment call….”
In other words, by funding Alameda, FTX was gambling and investing with customer funds without their knowledge—a clear violation in finance. FTX had $16 billion in customer assets—meaning it lent more than half of its customer funds to Alameda.
SBF Enters The Political Theater
As a new major contributor, SBF became the second most prominent supporter of the Democratic party, behind only George Soros, a liberal billionaire. SBF has donated more than $40 million to Democrats, with $6 million to Nancy Pelosi’s House Majority PAC.
As a result of such large campaign donations, SBF became intimately connected with many Democrats, including Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Rep. Richie Torres (D-NY), Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NY), and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ).
SBF’s quick rise to donor fame raised eyebrows within the crypto community. Even Elon Musk recently commented on a tweet from another user who questioned the possibility of Democrats laundering money using FTX:
What’s the connection between FTX and Ukraine?
As investigations continue, many speculate that SBF contributes to a money laundering scheme involving Ukraine’s aid money flowing to U.S. Democratic election campaigns using FTX’s platform.
In other words, as Biden continues handing money out to Ukraine, this money is allegedly transferred to Ukraine, which then Ukraine will “invest” that money into FTX—allowing SBF to graciously “donate” these payments to the Democrats.
In collaboration with Alex Bornyakov, Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation, SBF set up a website called “Aid for Ukraine” while using a Ukrainian web company, Everstake, to accept crypto donations. The website has since been taken down, operating under the URL https://donate.thedigital.gov.ua.
According to Internet Archive’s WayBackMachine, the last known date that it was in service was October 26, 2022. Below is a screenshot of WayBack Machine’s snapshot of the website.
Bornyakov quickly dismissed any related theories that Ukraine reinvested aid funds into FTX. He tweeted that “Ukraine's gov never invested any funds into FTX. The whole narrative that Ukraine allegedly invested in FTX, who donated money to Democrats, is nonsense.”
The Worse Is Yet To Come
The influence of SBP’s money has yet to show its destructive impact on the US economy, as many were tied into FTX cash flow. As we start witnessing the downfall of many businesses and organizations, we can be sure to link them back to FTX. However, keep an eye on any developments within the connections between SBP’s #HelpWithCrypto campaign for Ukraine aid and Democrats’ record-breaking fundraising during a time when Americans have less in their pockets.
Here’s a link to a list of curated articles to complement this Substack post. I went through the many articles and content to learn about this topic; I added those most helpful and informative to the list. It will remain a living list and will continually be updated.
The Perfect Trio: FTX, Democrats, Ukraine
Excellent video with additional details! Thank You 🎀 for all you do! https://youtu.be/CoJpiVMVl9M
https://jasonpowers.substack.com/p/2022-elections-sam-bankman-fried
Into the elections we go here.