FTX crypto exchange collapse: Follow the money
FTX went into meltdown after being hit with $5 billion in withdrawal requests.” – News
Cryptocurrency exchange FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Nov. 11, 2022. The company’s valuation plunged from $32 billion to bankruptcy in a matter of days, dragging down founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s $16 billion net worth to near-zero. A class-action lawsuit filed in a Florida federal court, alleges that Fried created a fraudulent scheme to take advantage of unsophisticated investors. – Investopedia
FTX’s co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried has been summoned to testify before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee. – Dales Report
- Who are the people involved? How are FTX and Alameda Research related?
- How much money is missing? Who’s left holding the bag?
- Who was the tenth largest Republican donor in the 2022 midterms?
- Who are the main VCs behind FTX and crypto currencies?
- Which celebrities were paid to promote FTX?
- What actions are underway by the Securities and Exchange Commission (S.E.C.), Federal Elections Commission and the Department of Justice?
Follow the money
Share this PowerMap freely with this link or as a GIF
What will happen to FTX?
As of mid-November 2022, the securities regulator of the Bahamas has frozen FTX’s assets and the company is strongly advising against customer deposits. Other regulatory investigations are ongoing. Also, civil lawsuits are being filed. In one such class-action lawsuit, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is named along with several well-known people in sports and entertainment who have promoted FTX in the past, including Tom Brady, Larry David, Naomi Osaka, Shaquille O’Neal, and Steph Curry. – Investopedia
Crypto cash and politics
Super PACs can raise unlimited amounts of money in support of candidates but are not allowed to donate directly to candidates or coordinate with campaigns. Salame’s actions are not necessarily out of step with the way that such organizations commonly operate. But they underscore how crypto’s growing influence in American politics is creating a new gray area for campaigns. Bond herself is a crypto policy advocate.
As Washington regulators are poised to crack down amid the recent market crash, crypto lobbying has grown significantly in 2022 and industry players are spending serious cash to sway the midterms. These donations serve as a window into the mysterious network of crypto-linked PACs, which have spent money in dozens of midterm races — but aren’t exactly forthcoming about who is calling the shots.
Follow the money ‘sloshing’ around behind PACs
A group uses a network of super PACs to support candidates is quite common in US politics, said Andrew Mayersohn, committees researcher for OpenSecrets, a nonprofit that tracks political spending. “There will be not just one super PAC, but a network of super PACs with similar donors or similar staff, or have the same goal in mind. And they shuffle money around between them,” Mayersohn said. “You do have to do a lot of digging to follow all the money when it sloshes around like this between multiple groups.” – Deep Resonance
Millions in donations to Republicans
Despite his attempts to hide his donations to Republicans, a few large contributions to the party can be traced back to Bankman-Fried. One vehicle was the Crypto Innovation PAC, which donated nearly $3.2 million to nine Republicans. Most of the PAC’s money ($2.8 million) came from GMI PAC, whose top donors include Bankman-Fried, Salame, Marc Andreesen, Ben Horowitz and Circle, a digital currency company. – MSN
Use a Power Map to follow the money and connections
It’s hard to follow complex schemes that involve lots of people. The sheer complexity makes it easier to conceal things. Following the money is often a shortcut to get to the truth. That’s what a PowerMap designed with the free Kumu app does. It present the information in a visual, interactive manner. Who were the people involved? How they are connected? Who did they get money from? Who did they give money to? Each element on the map includes links to more information which could be a document, image or video.
Take Away: Follow the crypto currency spent in elections and lobbying to relax the rules that govern crypto currency.
Deepak
DemLabs
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