Congress Eyes FTX Collapse

November 16, 2022

House Financial Services Committee, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), and the Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, Congressman Patrick McHenry (R-NC), announced a bipartisan hearing into the collapse of FTX and the broader consequences for the digital asset ecosystem.

In December, the House Financial Services Committee expects to hear from the companies and individuals involved, including Sam Bankman-Fried, Alameda Research, Binance, FTX, and related entities, among others.

“The fall of FTX has posed tremendous harm to over one million users, many of whom were everyday people who invested their hard-earned savings into the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, only to watch it all disappear within a matter of seconds. Unfortunately, this event is just one out of many examples of cryptocurrency platforms that have collapsed just this past year. That’s why it is with great urgency that I, along with my colleague Ranking Member McHenry, announce the Committee’s intention to hold a hearing to investigate the collapse of FTX,” said Chairwoman Maxine Waters. “As Chairwoman of the Financial Services Committee, I have led the effort in examining and investigating the digital assets marketplace, and know that we need legislative action to ensure that digital assets entities cannot operate in the shadows outside of robust federal oversight and clear rules of the road. I look forward to holding this important hearing, and uncovering all that Congress must do to ensure this never happens again.

“Chairwoman Waters and I are announcing a House Financial Services Committee hearing on the FTX debacle,” said Ranking Member McHenry. “Oversight is one of Congress’ most critical functions and we must get to the bottom of this for FTX’s customers and the American people. It’s essential that we hold bad actors accountable so responsible players can harness technology to build a more inclusive financial system. I appreciate Chairwoman Waters’ working with Republicans to deliver accountability through a bipartisan process.”