Cryptomogul Sam Bankman-Fried on why he got involved in politics

🚨: «Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abea towering political figure at home and abroad, died after being shot during a campaign event on Friday, doctors said, shocking a nation where firearms laws are among the world’s strictest and gun violence is rare, “our colleague Michelle Ye Hee Lee write.

“Abe, 67, was stunned by a fellow politician from the ruling The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in Nara, near Osaka, on Friday morning when a gunman opened fire with what the police described as an improvised weapon.

Happens today: President Biden will sign a ruling this morning intended to protect access to abortion, three weeks after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade. It does not include measures proposed by any democratic legislature, such as declaring a national public health emergency or opening abortion clinics in federal states.

Instead, the order will require the Department of Health and Human Services to take unspecified measures to protect access to abortion pills. It also sets up a working group across agencies and heads the Attorney General Merrick Garland and adviser to the White House Dana Remus to coordinate the efforts of volunteer lawyers who seek to represent patients who travel across state borders for, among other things, abortion.

Sam Bankman-Fried on what he learned from his recent experience in primary competitions

Six questions for… Sam Bankman-Fried: We chatted with the billionaire entrepreneur and CEO of FTXone of the largest crypto exchanges, about the declining value of digital currencies, what he thinks of bills to regulate crypto and the millions of dollars he has spent so far this year to support Democrats.

This interview is edited and compressed for length and clarity.

The early: Let’s start the big picture: Crypto’s total value is now below 1 trillion dollars, from the highest of 3 trillion dollars last year. Some of these currencies are counterfeit. How can you convince me and others that crypto is a real thing?

Bankman-Fried: Anything that brands itself with cryptocurrency is the best – I certainly do not want to say that. But this is not a cryptocurrency-specific sale. Crypto is obviously down a lot, but so are many other sectors. The technology sector as a whole is down about 50 percent from the top in the last six months or so. And given that crypto is a moderately more volatile asset class, it is, if anything, a little surprising to me that these data would not have been higher.

The early: Do you think that, in the end, there must be fewer instruments, fewer digital currencies, fewer exchanges, fewer choices for consumers? Or are more better?

Bankman-Fried: I always think that what we should see is fewer followed by more. We should be looking to build a truly dynamic, diverse ecosystem, and that should really be our long-term goal here. But at the same time I also think there is a lot of hot air and a lot of fluff in the ecosystem. So what I think would be best for the industry would be to sort out a lot of the flimsy things, and then reset and then start growing in terms of the number of arenas, the number of assets taken seriously. Because I believe that in the long run there is potential for enormous growth and a large number of dynamic participants.

The Early: Sens. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) And Kirsten Gillibrand (DN.Y.) introduced legislation that would essentially give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission primarily regulatory oversight of crypto. Why is the CFTC the preferred regulator?

Bankman-Fried: I’m very excited about it. I think that sets a good precedent. [The bill and other legislative efforts on the Hill] Begin to present sketches of a comprehensive set of crypto regulations, which I believe is absolutely what is needed to protect consumers and gain real federal oversight of the industry.

When it comes to inter-agency issues, I think it’s going to be a role for the CFTC; I think it’s going to be a role too [Securities and Exchange Commission]. I would say [I’m] not superprescriptive in terms of how we think about it. However, I think the CFTC makes a lot of sense as a market regulator. They are really experienced, competent and efficient and have a deep knowledge of markets and crypto markets and you can do a very good job with it. I also think that the SEC is likely to play a major role in, at the very least, thinking about what it means to register a digital security.

The early: You’ve spent millions of dollars this year supporting Democrats through your PAC, Protect our future PAC. Why did you decide to get involved in politics?

Bankman-Fried: I see it much more as politics than politics – that is, I think there are some really important issues facing the country. The most important among them has been pandemic prevention. By dealing with covid, we made many big mistakes, and that led to tens of trillions of dollars in financial damage and millions of lives lost. Much of it could be prevented.

So it’s a high level. We are very pleased to support candidates who make a point of putting pandemic prevention as one of their core political positions and promise to fight to get enough airtime, frankly, to help the United States prepare.

The early: I want to ask you specifically about Carrick Flynn, who lost the Democratic primary for a seat in an open house in Oregon in May. Your PAC spent $ 11 million supporting him. Did it give you other thoughts about spending so much money after he lost?

Bankman-Fried: In the end, you win someone, you lose someone. But there are really declining marginal gains from financing. I think it was definitely a takeaway. And there are many smaller things too – learning points for me when it comes to thinking about who to support and how much. I think the biggest thing is just keep adapting and understanding the way you can have the most positive productive effect.

The early: Your colleague Ryan Salameco-manager for FTX digital markets, has spent millions of dollars supporting Republican candidates this year through its own PAC. Do you coordinate? Is he the Republican donor and you are the Democratic donor?

Bankman-Fried: That’s not how I look at it. I have given to other PACs and supported candidates in other races, including Republican primary, and I have said publicly that I would support candidates from both parties. Ryan and I care about some of the same issues – especially preventing the next pandemic – and we each make decisions that we believe will advance those goals.

The next steps in the struggle for “early state” status

The The Democratic National Committeeits rules and regulations committee is meeting today as the party approaches deciding which states will have the privilege of voting first in the 2024 presidential election.

The committee’s decision to reconsider which states should vote only after Iowa’s election rallies in 2020 has led to a battle between state Democratic parties, with 16 states and Puerto Rico vying for the first four – or maybe five – seats.

Each state presented its case – some of them backed by campaign-style videos – in June at the committee’s last meeting. The committee gave a signal about what it is looking for in a follow-up questionnaire sent out to the state parties after the meeting, which asks about the states’ voting and election rules: Does your state have automatic voter registration? What rules selector ID?

The states that traditionally vote or caucus first – Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina – are fighting to hang on to their slot machines – except for one. Nevada launches an all-out campaign to jump over its rivals and secure “First in the Nation” status.

“At this point, it’s not just about keeping our place,” Judith Whitmer, the Nevada Democratic Party chairman said in an interview Thursday. “We want to push Nevada to the top spot because we feel Nevada is more representative of the country.”

The effort is a continuation of the successful campaign that was conducted 16 years ago Harry Reid, the late majority leader in the Senate, to convince Democrats to add his home state to the ranks of early states, long led by Iowa’s caucuses and New Hampshire’s primary election.

Nevada Democrats, including former Reid aides, have argued that the state is more diverse than its rivals, with significant blacks, Hispanics and Asians. They have also emphasized its relatively affordable media markets and liberal voting laws.

New Hampshire – seen as Nevada’s leading rival for the No. 1 track – emphasizes that its compact size allows, something Democrats there argue for a simpler retail campaign and its long tradition of holding the primary election without Iowa-style debacle. State law also requires that its primary be held one week before all others, which may make it more difficult to dethrone.

“It is clear that the date of the primary election will be first,” Jet Buckley, the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s longtime chairman of the board, told The Early in May. “If it is sanctioned [by the DNC] or not – we would hope we were able to solve it. “

Meanwhile, in Nevada: The Republican Nonprofit Organization One Nationwhich is in line with the Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnellgoes up with its first Spanish-language TV commercial for the cycle that criticizes Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), A top Republican target.

One Nation is spending $ 300,000 to ship the ad through July 25th. Democrats have been running Spanish-language ads for months, attacking Republican Senate-nominated former state attorney in Nevada Adam Laxalt.

The IRS asks Treasury Watchdog to investigate James Comey, Andrew McCabe

The latest on IRS Street: “Congress Democrats and Republicans on Thursday lashed out at new reports that the IRS may have charged the president Donald Trumptheir political enemies with audits, issue divided calls – backed by the tax office itself – for a full federal investigation of the case, »our colleagues Tony Romm, Lisa Rein, Josh Dawsey and Devlin Barrett report. “The demands came in response to reports that the tax authorities initiated detailed reviews of the tax registers of James B. Comeythe former FBI director, and Andrew McCabea deputy who later took over the agency. “

• An investigation of the case will be conducted by the Financial Controller for the Tax Administration, or TIGTA, which usually opens probes at the request of legislators. “

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) has planned a secret briefing for senators on Chinese microchip production on Wednesday afternoon, as he pushes lawmakers to reach an agreement to pass a bill to counter China and strengthen US chipmakers.

The briefing comes after McConnell warned last week that he would block an agreement if the Democrats continued their long-thwarted efforts to pass a conciliation bill to curb the cost of prescription drugs and fight climate change with only democratic votes.

7 cheaper summer hotspots: It’s midsummer and your wallet has already been beaten. Travel to Europe, Mexico and Central America is more expensive than they were in 2019, according to our colleague Natalie B. Compton. Do you still need that holiday? Here are seven cheaper options:

• Instead of Costa Rica, try Peru
• Instead of Paris, try Montreal
• Instead of the Maldives, try Belize
• Instead of Tuscany, try Portugal
• Instead of Turks and Caicos, try Greece
• Instead of Bangkok, try Guadalajara
• Try Hawaii instead Florida

Thanks for reading. You can also follow us on Twitter: @theodoricmeyer and @LACaldwellDC.