CEO of FTX Sam Bankman-Fried testifies during a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee at Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill December 8, 2021 in Washington, DC.Alex Wong | Getty ImagesFormer FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and his allies are losing advocates in Washington, as the company hits rock bottom.Lobbyists who worked for FTX and Guarding Against Pandemics, a nonprofit partially funded by Bankman-Fried and run by his brother, Gabe Bankman-Fried, told CNBC that they have severed ties with the cryptocurrency exchange after its collapse.related investing news Here’s how bitcoin futures ETFs performed in a dramatic week for cryptoFTX announced Friday that it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and that Bankman-Fried was stepping down as CEO after revelations of a liquidity crisis at the company.FTX’s stunning downfall has prompted Washington lawmakers, including the Biden White House, to more closely scrutinize the company and the industry at large. The moves by some in Washington to distance themselves from FTX followed a broader push by the company and key executives to ingratiate themselves with policymakers. Bankman-Fried became known as a crypto “darling” in Washington as he gave more than $39 million to candidates and committees in the 2022 midterm elections, according to data from OpenSecrets. Ryan Salame, the co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, gave more than $23 million during the same election cycle, according to the data.But many of FTX’s efforts to gain a toehold in Washington appear to be crashing to a halt. After Bankman-Fried donated $2,900 to the campaig …
