The U.S. votes for the House and Senate on Tuesday, potentially setting the direction for the next two years of legislative and regulatory action …
The U.S. votes for the House and Senate on Tuesday, potentially setting the direction for the next two years of legislative and regulatory action.
The crypto industry has tried to play a major role in the election through donations, though results have been tempered at best. Despite that, a number of candidates with strong views on crypto are on the ballot, and whether or not they’re elected – as well as which party ends up controlling the House and the Senate – could well determine what sort of legislative priorities receive attention next year.
Despite their importance, the main story Tuesday was the surprise announcement by Sam Bankman-Fried, a major donor and the founder of trading firm FTX, and Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the founder of Binance, that the latter had signed a non-binding letter of intent to acquire FTX.
The news came days after CoinDesk first reported that much of FTX sister firm Alameda Research’s balance sheet was composed of FTX’s own exchange token FTT, raising questions and concerns that the company may not have been as well-collateralized as it purported to be.
Prior to last week’s news, Bankman-Fried was a prominent face in Washington D.C, telling a banking conference last month that he spent much of his time talking to lawmakers and regulators. His influence may wane, given his company’s sudden decline, and legislative issues like the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act, which he supported, may suddenly lose industry backing.
