Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company behind the Claude chatbot, has pushed for greater government regulation of AI in ways that echo elements of the Washington playbook employed by convicted fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried during his time as a cryptocurrency entrepreneur, a review of public records shows. Both Anthropic and Bankman-Fried poured millions of dollars into Washington influence campaigns while publicly arguing that government rules were needed to make their respective industries safer, although the money flowed through notably different channels. Critics in both industries have accused them of using regulation to strengthen their competitive positions.
Bankman-Fried’s political operation later became part of a criminal case involving illegal campaign contributions, while Anthropic’s spending has consisted of disclosed lobbying and advocacy efforts. Anthropic, for its part, denies this characterization. Bankman-Fried, meanwhile, later said his public posture on regulation was essentially "just PR" in a social media direct-message exchange published days after FTX collapsed.
Anthropic has been pushing Washington to put guardrails around the fast-moving AI industry, warning that increasingly powerful models could pose serious national security and public safety risks. CEO Dario Amodei has called for mandatory testing and auditing of advanced models, while the company has spent millions lobbying policymakers and backing groups that support tougher AI rules. WHITE HOUSE MEETS AI FIRM ANTHROPIC AMID POLITICAL TENSIONS, PENTAGON DISPUTE The push comes as Anthropic is increasingly engaging with a Trump administration that has made rapid AI development and U.S. dominance in the technology a major priority, warning that falling behind could carry economic and national security consequences.
Amodei joined other major tech executives at the White House on Sept. 29, where they signed a voluntary agreement outlining safety standards for companies developing powerful AI systems. Before being convicted of fraud, Bankman-Fried lobbied Washington for a regulatory system for crypto led by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, presenting it as necessary to protect customers and bring clarity to the industry. He was a prominent supporter of the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act (DCCPA), legislation that would have created such a framework — with campaign finance records showing that he cut checks to the bill’s sponsors in the Senate.
At the time, some crypto advocates opposed the DCCPA as overly favorable to centralized exchanges such as FTX. Prosecutors later alleged that Bankman-Fried and his co-conspirators flooded the political system with tens of millions of dollars in illegal contributions as part of an effort to increase FTX’s influence in Washington and help advance favorable legislation. Bankman-Fried justified his efforts on the grounds that public safety was at stake, using similar rhetoric to that employed by Anthropic in its quest to regulate AI development.
"We need regulatory oversight and customer protection," he said on social media weeks before FTX collapsed. Testifying before Congress, he argued that crypto regulation should provide "system safety and soundness." GOP LAWMAKERS SMELL SOMETHING ELSE BEHIND BIG TECH'S AI DOOMSDAY WARNINGS: 'SOMETHING ELSE GOING ON' Anthropic has also pursued a lobbying strategy that calls for government regulation, warning lawmakers that advanced AI poses serious national security and public safety risks. Amodei told the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2023 that AI poses "extraordinarily grave threats to U.S. national security" and called for a mandatory "testing and auditing regime" with the power to block deployment of models found unsafe.
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