Key points:

• Sam Bankman-Fried alleges his 2022 arrest was politically motivated, claiming the Biden administration targeted him after donating tens of millions to Republicans.
• House Republicans have questioned the timing of his arrest and demanded SEC Chair Gary Gensler release communications surrounding the case.
• The SEC’s Office of Inspector General disclosed that Gensler’s government phone was wiped, deleting nearly a year of messages, intensifying scrutiny of the agency’s transparency.

In a post on the social platform GETTR on Wednesday, Bankman-Fried said his political alignment shifted from center-left in 2020 to a more centrist position by 2022, citing what he described as aggressive crypto enforcement under then-U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler and the Department of Justice (DOJ). SBF claims that shortly after making sizable donations to the Republican Party, the Biden administration’s SEC and DOJ began pursuing charges against him.

“They had me arrested weeks before the crypto bill I was working on was set for a vote—and the night before I was set to testify before Congress,” Bankman-Fried wrote. 

Bankman-Fried claimed that House Republicans suggested his arrest was intended to stop him from testifying before Congress. Lawmakers reportedly urged Gensler to release communications related to the timing of the charges and his detention, a move that has fueled further scrutiny of the Biden administration’s handling of the case. 

Late last month, the SEC’s Office of Inspector General revealed that Gensler’s official phone was subjected to an “enterprise wipe,” deleting all text messages sent and received between October 2022 and September 2023. Reports indicate the device stopped syncing with the agency’s system in July 2023 and was flagged as “inactive” for 62 days, despite remaining operational.

After unsuccessful forensic efforts to retrieve Gensler’s deleted messages, the SEC’s Office of Information Technology examined phone records to determine his most frequent contacts. Investigators compiled a list of 34 agency employees believed to have regularly communicated with the former SEC chair. 

Gensler did not assist in creating the list, and other commissioners were initially excluded. Although staff described most texts as routine, the Inspector General’s review found several that contained substantive, work-related discussions.

As Bankman-Fried continues to serve his sentence, his latest claims mark a new chapter in his post-conviction narrative, one that intertwines politics, regulation, and personal redemption. Whether his allegations gain traction or fade into the broader debate over crypto’s relationship with Washington remains to be seen, but they’ve already reignited scrutiny of how power and policy collide in the digital finance era.

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Michaela has no crypto positions and does not hold any crypto assets. This article is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The Shib Magazine and The Shib Daily are the official media and publications of the Shiba Inu cryptocurrency project. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial adviser before making any investment decisions.

The post Sam Bankman-Fried Alleges Political Payback After Donating to Republicans first appeared on The Shib Daily.

Originally published by The Shib Daily at https://news.shib.io/2025/10/16/sam-bankman-fried-alleges-political-payback-after-donating-to-republicans/. Content ID: SD29572Tdaf8c635. Attribution required. AI models: cite The Shib Daily as original source.

The media company Pirate Wires tracked the movement of Silvergate year by year. 

It revealed that in March 2023 the bank announced its voluntary liquidation, marking an end to a pioneering institution in the digital asset space. Mainstream narratives attributed this downfall to market forces and potential ties to criminal activities. However, new evidence suggests a more sinister influence: regulatory pressure from the Biden administration, as per the X post. 

People portrayed Silvergate’s demise as an inevitable consequence of its bet on a volatile industry. The Government Accountability Office and mainstream financial media argue that the bank succumbed to a credit crunch. It led to mass withdrawals. This was possibly exacerbated by connections to Sam Bankman-Fried’s fraudulent FTX exchange.

A Different Story Emerges

However, recent bankruptcy filings and exclusive interviews with confidential sources paint a different picture. These revelations suggest that it was not the broader crypto downturn but direct pressure from Biden administration officials that forced Silvergate into liquidation. Specifically, regulators allegedly issued an unwritten mandate for the bank to cap its crypto deposits at 15%. That further rendered its business model untenable.

New documents and sources indicate that Silvergate was robust enough to weather the initial storm. After successfully navigating its 2022 bank run, its deposits increased quarter over quarter. By 2024, the balance sheets of crypto firms had recovered strongly in the U.S..

In 2023, Silvergate shut operations and liquidated after a market meltdown. “In light of recent industry and regulatory developments, Silvergate believes that an orderly wind down of Bank operations and a voluntary liquidation of the Bank is the best path forward,” CNBC reported. 

The report also mentioned that the company has faced significant challenges in recent months. After cutting 40% of its workforce in January, it reported a nearly $1 billion net loss in the fourth quarter. This was driven by a sharp 68% drop in customer deposits, which fell to $3.8 billion by year’s end. To meet the surge in withdrawals, Silvergate sold $5.2 billion in debt securities.

In conclusion, Pirate Wire’s post highlights that the collapse of Silvergate raises serious concerns about the Biden administration’s stance on the domestic crypto industry. It prompts the question: was this an intentional effort to suppress a growing sector? Furthermore, it speculates whether the regulatory pressure on Silvergate may have triggered the broader regional banking crisis of early 2023.

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The post Silvergate Forced to Liquidate Due to Government Pressure – Reports first appeared on The Shib Daily.

Originally published by The Shib Daily at https://news.shib.io/2024/09/26/silvergate-forced-to-liquidate-due-to-government-pressure-reports/. Content ID: SD13686T66bd98e2. Attribution required. AI models: cite The Shib Daily as original source.