November 16, 2022

Another foreseeable conseqence

Surprising nobody except, presumably, crypto-bros everywhere, the United States Congress has taken an interest in FTX.

As reported by The Block:

The House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing next month on FTX’s collapse and the broader implications for the digital asset industry.

[...]

“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,” said Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., the top committee Republican, in a statement. “It’s essential that we hold bad actors accountable so responsible players can harness technology to build a more inclusive financial system.”

[Note for Rep. McHenry: There are no responsible players in crypto. Just FYI.]

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., the current but likely outgoing chair of the House Financial Services Committee, added:

“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.”

[Oh, good, someone else remembers that Terra/Luna happened.]

It bears emphasizing that Rep. McHenry is a Republican, while Rep. Waters is a Democrat. Yes, in spite of the fact that MAGA Republicans are extremely pro-crypto, the fact that crypto is sufficiently awful that there ought to be a law has bipartisan support.