US congressman says FTX crisis a failure of crypto-industry regulation

US Representative Tom Emmer, in comments to FOX Business, criticised SEC Chair Gary Gensler and former FTX CEO SEC Sam Bankman-Fried amid the crisis surrounding the Bitcoin exchange.

FTX’s collapse is not a crypto failure. It’s a failure with CeFi, @GaryGensler, and Sam Bankman-Fried. Decentralization is the point. Watch below for more thoughts 👇 pic.twitter.com/VYacafc0ZD

— Tom Emmer (@RepTomEmmer) November 22, 2022

“The FTX collapse is not a crypto bust. It’s a failure of centralized finance, Gary Gensler and Sam Bankman-Fried. The essence is decentralization,” Emmer explained.

The congressman also mentioned rumors in March 2022 of talks between Gary Gensler and Sam Bankman-Fried about granting FTX a special regulatory regime.

He also said that it is the SEC’s duty to oversee crypto projects that collapsed, such as Celsius Network, Terra and Voyager Digital.

“We need to figure this out and understand why Gary Gensler and the SEC did not do their job. […] We need to understand how all of this led to people losing their savings,” added Emmer.

In July, the congressman accused the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of an “unethical stance” toward the digital-asset industry.

In August, billionaire Mark Cuban criticised Gensler for unclear rules for Bitcoin businesses and investors.

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