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Bankman-Fried, Other Top FTX Execs Among Largest Political Donors
Sam Bankman-Fried and other top FTX executives were among the largest political donors over the past two years.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan group that tracks campaign donations, Bankman-Fried personally gave $40 million to politicians and political-action committees ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, mostly to Democrats and liberal-leaning groups.
Ryan Salame, another top FTX executive, donated more than $23 million, mainly to Republicans and conservative groups.
“I’m not going to pass judgment until we see what the details are,” said Rep. Tom Emmer (R., Minn.), one of dozens of politicians whose campaigns received money from FTX and its executives, on the firm’s conduct leading up to its bankruptcy filing. He said Mr. Bankman-Fried is “a very likable young man.”
More than Half of Bitcoin Holders are in the Red
Of the 47.9 million addresses that hold Bitcoin, more than 50% are now in loss.
Data provided by blockchain analytics firm IntoTheBlock show about 45% are boasting unrealized gains, and four percent are in the “break-even” range.
The FTX fallout precipitated Bitcoin’s latest bear run, raising the number of losses to its highest point since the start of the coronavirus-induced crash of March 2020.
FTX Still Owes Over $3 Billion
Court documents recently revealed Sam Bankman Fried’s crumbling FTX empire owes $3.1 billion to its top creditors.
The various divisions of Bankman-Fried’s companies hold around $1.2 billion, $465 million is restricted cash, which is earmarked for specific purposes like loan repayments and can’t be used for general business purposes.
Alameda Research has the largest reserve of cash out of the various entities at $393 million, while FTX Japan has the largest reserve of cash at $171 million of firms under the FTX silo. The Japanese crypto exchange has reportedly said it is preparing to restart withdrawals by the end of the year, according to CoinDesk.
Tornado Cash Developer to Serve More Jail Time as Investigation Continues
Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev will remain in custody in the Netherlands for another three months as the investigation into his decentralized, non-custodial privacy solution built on the Ethereum blockchain.
A Netherlands court considered Pertsev a flight risk, continuing the developer’s detention until Feb. 20. The Russian national was initially detained in August.
Pertsev faces money laundering charges related to his now sanctioned app, Tornado Cash.
The U.S. Treasury used sanction powers against the Tornado protocol in August, which it said had been used to launder over a billion dollars worth of cryptocurrencies and support North Korean hackers.
Outside the courtroom, Pertsev’s lawyer Keith Cheng told CoinDesk he was “very disappointed” with the decision.
“It’s clear to us that these judges are not as familiar with the subject matter as they should be,” Cheng said. “At the moment, the case law regarding criminal activities is all about bitcoin mixers … it’s very important that the court understands that Tornado Cash is something different.”
