The United States House Financial Services Committee will be holding a hearing into the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX and the “broader consequences for the digital asset ecosystem.”
Ranking Member of the House, Congressman Patrick McHenry, and the Chairwoman of the House, Congresswoman Maxine Waters announced the move on Wednesday, saying that the hearing will take place in December.
House to Summon Binance and Others
According to lawmakers, the House expects to hear testimonies from companies and individuals involved in that debacle, including former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), Alameda Research, Binance, FTX, related entities, and 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,” Waters said.
FTX was forced to file for bankruptcy last week after facing a liquidity crunch due to SBF reportedly using customers’ deposits to fund risky bets at his trading firm Alameda Research. According to reports, FTX has a staggering $8 billion hole in its balance sheet and over one million creditors.
“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,” McHenry said in a statement.
SBF is a major political donor and has a close relationship with lawmakers in the U.S. He also once helped in writing the first major crypto bill in the country. However, following SBF’s involvement in FTX’s collapse, it seems lawmakers are now distancing themselves from the disgraced FTX founder.
SBF Faces Scrutiny Over FTX Debacle
Meanwhile, aside from U.S. lawmakers, SBF is also facing scrutiny from regulators in the United States. Just recently, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched a probe into SBF to determine whether he violated securities laws.
FTX is also currently being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
