FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried will testify at a US congressional hearing next week about his crypto group’s collapse, marking his first public contact with US authorities about the events surrounding its U-turn bankruptcy.
Maxine Waters, chairwoman of the US House Committee on Financial Services, announced that Bankman-Fried will participate in the first hearing on the topic scheduled for Friday, December 13. The entrepreneur said he was “willing to testify”.
Millions of lenders, including retail investors, could face losses as lawmakers try to piece together how Bankman-Fried’s once $32bn crypto empire imploded.
The 30-year-old has been on a media blitz since FTX filed for bankruptcy last month. Interviews In an apparent attempt to explain his understanding of the stock and the events that led to its collapse to several stores against the advice of his lawyers, he was reluctant to speak to Congress.
He bowed to pressure after Waters made it clear a subpoena would be on the table if he refused, and asked him to speak out “to help the company’s customers, investors and others.”
In a series of Twitter posts Friday, Bankman-Fried said she was willing to testify. “I still don’t have access to most of my data — professional or personal. So there’s a limit to what I can say, and I don’t help as much as I’d like,” he added.
John Jay Ray, who took over as chief executive of the now-defunct transaction and is handling its bankruptcy proceedings, is scheduled to testify in a separate panel.
The rapid collapse of Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire has sent shockwaves through the digital assets industry, prompting Many studies around the world, dozens of officials tried to understand how FTX and its related trading shop, Alameda Research, operated and failed. A string of other crypto companies including Broker Genesis And Lender is BlockFi Also experienced stress due to links with FTX.
Bankman-Fried, who has been based in the Bahamas since the FTX collapse, said she would “try to be helpful during the investigation” and shed light on the issues that “led up to the crash,” including “my own failings” and “trajectories.” It will provide value to users internationally.
He has repeatedly denied knowingly misappropriating client funds commits fraudBut he acknowledged a lack of basic risk management and the loss of a cozy relationship between FTX and Alameda.
“I think of myself as the kind of CEO who doesn’t get lazy or cut off,” he said Friday. “I hope people can learn from the difference between who I am and who I could have been.”
US lawmakers are increasing their scrutiny of the crypto industry. On Thursday, the US Securities and Exchange Commission notified US-listed companies reveal Any vulnerability from “widespread disruption” in crypto markets. The regulator said public companies should aim to provide investors with “specific, relevant disclosure” about how market events, including bankruptcies, have affected their businesses.
Meanwhile, chief executive of crypto exchange Finance Changpeng “Z” Zhao continued his online criticism of his former rival. when FTX First facing difficulties last month, Zhao initially offered to buy some or all of the site. That deal may have represented a rescue deal, but it quickly unraveled.
Binance was also an early investor in FTX and exited last year. On Friday, Zhao said the decision was met with an “unmitigated” response from Bankmann-Fried.
“He launched a series of attacks on several finance team members, threatening to go to ‘extraordinary lengths to pay us,'” Zhao said. He wrote on Twitter.
“You win,” Bankman-Fried replied. “There is no need for this. you win Why are you lying about this now?”
Additional reporting by Stefania Palma in Washington
