Crypto billionaire’s $500K donation to D10 race breaks SF precedent

Published Sep. 3, 2026at1:53pm

Crypto billionaire Chris Larsen donated half a million dollars to a political group supporting Theo Ellington in the District 10 supervisor race.

The $500,000 donation (opens in new tab) is unprecedented. It’s among the largest single donations to a third-party group supporting a single candidate in San Francisco.

San Francisco’s wealthy have regularly spent six-figure sums on city ballot measures, but such donations aren’t typical in races for elected office, according to data from the San Francisco Ethics Commission. Large donations are also routinely made to third-party groups spending on multiple candidates.

Donors are limited to $500 in direct contributions to candidates, but third-party groups can accept donations of any size.

The donation was made to a two-week-old political action committee (opens in new tab) with a clunky name: From the Neighborhood, for the City, Supporting Theo Ellington for Supervisor 2026.

Ellington was not immediately available for comment. Neither was a spokesperson for Larsen.

Former supervisor Aaron Peskin has long derided the shocking rise of spending in local Board of Supervisors races, a force he calls “corrupting.”

“It’s like a tsunami. It’s like that flood that just happened in Nepal. It is beyond comprehension,” Peskin said. “That’s the kind of money people spend to put someone in the United States Congress.”