Sam Bankman-Fried Accuses Biden Admin of Targeting Him Over Republican Donations

Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the founder of the now-defunct FTX cryptocurrency exchange, has resurfaced with fresh allegations against the Biden administration. In a social media post shared on Wednesday, he described his 2022 arrest as a politically charged move tied to his shift in political donations. The claims come as he serves a lengthy prison term following his conviction on fraud charges.

Bankman-Fried explained that his views evolved from center-left in 2020 to centrist by 2022, influenced by aggressive regulatory actions against the crypto sector. He pointed to enforcement efforts led by Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler and the Department of Justice under President Joe Biden. This change prompted him to donate tens of millions of dollars privately to Republican causes, a decision he now links directly to the timing of his downfall.

Echoes of Regulatory Scrutiny and Lost Evidence

Bankman-Fried’s post on GETTR, dictated through a friend due to prison restrictions, detailed how federal authorities moved swiftly against him. He noted that his arrest occurred just weeks before a key crypto bill was due for a congressional vote and the evening prior to his scheduled testimony. House Republicans at the time voiced concerns over this sequence of events, suggesting it aimed to silence his input on crypto policy, and they requested internal SEC communications from Gensler.

Those suspicions gained new traction in Bankman-Fried’s recent message, where he highlighted the disappearance of relevant internal records. Last month, the SEC’s Office of Inspector General reported that an automated IT policy led to the wiping of Gensler’s government-issued mobile device. As a result, text messages from October 2022 through September 2023 vanished, covering the period when major enforcement actions targeted crypto entities like Coinbase and Binance.

The broader context of these regulatory pursuits underscores the tensions within the industry during that era. Gensler’s tenure saw a surge in lawsuits and investigations into digital asset platforms, often framing them as unregistered securities. Bankman-Fried positioned his case as part of this pattern, arguing that the administration’s stance on crypto fueled the rapid escalation against FTX.

Bankman-Fried’s arrest unfolded in the Bahamas in December 2022, leading to his extradition and eventual trial in the United States. Prosecutors accused him of siphoning billions in customer funds to prop up his hedge fund, Alameda Research, and other ventures. A jury found him guilty on multiple counts of fraud and conspiracy in November 2023, resulting in a 25-year sentence that he is actively appealing.

From his current incarceration, Bankman-Fried and his family maintain that the conviction represents a miscarriage of justice. They have reached out for clemency to President Donald Trump, who earlier this year granted a pardon to Ross Ulbricht, the Silk Road founder who was serving a double-life sentence. This appeal arrives amid ongoing debates about federal overreach in crypto enforcement and the role of political influences in high-profile cases.