Gov. Tim Walz accepted — and returned — $4K donation from FTX exec

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who recently joined the Democratic presidential ticket as Kamala Harris’ running mate, received a $4,000 donation from former FTX engineering director Nishad Singh in 2022.

According to Minnesota Campaign Finance Board records, Singh sent the funds to Walz’s reelection committee in October 2022. Former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried also sent $2,500 to Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s campaign in November 2022, mere days before the crypto exchange filed for bankruptcy.

Reports suggested that Walz later returned Singh’s contribution amid the controversy surrounding the collapse of FTX and Alameda Research. Bankman-Fried facilitated millions in contributions to political campaigns at the state and federal levels — donations that debtors attempted to claw back as part of efforts to make users whole.

Singh, who pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering in 2023, testified at SBF’s trial, alleging the former CEO would “unilaterally spend Alameda’s money.” He is scheduled to be sentenced in October. Bankman-Fried is currently serving a 25-year sentence while his lawyers file an appeal.

Walz’s crypto policies

Gov. Walz, joining Vice President Harris on the Democratic ticket, has been largely silent on digital assets and blockchain issues. Many crypto users speculated that he would favor stricter regulations based on his approach to other issues like fighting climate change, but at the time of publication, the campaign did not have a clear crypto platform.

An Aug. 7 report from Axios suggested that the Minnesota Governor may have fewer conflicts of interest regarding enacting policy than many members of Congress. Walz reportedly owned no stocks, mutual funds, bonds, private equities, real estate, or cryptocurrency.

In the US House of Representatives, Walz sponsored the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act in 2011. The legislation, signed into law by US President Barack Obama in 2012, requires lawmakers to report the purchase, sale or exchange of many assets while serving in Congress but provides minimal financial and legal consequences for not doing so.

Enforcement of the STOCK Act has allowed members of the public to see what crypto holdings many Senators and Representatives have declared in the last 12 years. However, some lawmakers have argued that the legislation doesn’t go far enough, and members of Congress should be banned from trading stocks while in office.