The number one public enemy of cryptocurrencies today, Sam Bankman-Fried, has missed a crucial deadline to confirm his appearance at an upcoming Senate Committee hearing.
The former FTX CEO did not respond to the Senate Banking Committee’s request that he testify at the Committee’s meeting on December 14. at 5:00 p.m. (ET) on Thursday, December 8. This has opened up the possibility of a congressional subpoena.
December 8th, Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown and the committee’s ranking member, Sen. Pat Toomey, issued a statement on the request.
“The FTX crash has caused real financial damage to consumers, and the effects have spilled over into other parts of the crypto industry. The American people need answers about Sam Bankman-Fried’s misconduct on FTX,” they stated. before adding:
“The Committee has requested that he testify at our next hearing on the FTX collapse, and will consider further action if he does not comply.”
According to the official website of the Committee, the hearing titled “Crypto Crash: Why the FTX Bubble Burst and the Harm to Consumers” will be webcast on December 14.
Until now, Two witnesses have been confirmed at the hearing: Professor Hilary J. Allen of American University’s Washington College of Law, and actor and writer Ben McKenzie Schenkkan.
Professor Allen is an academic whose research focuses on the impact of new financial technologies on the stability of the financial system. Ben McKenzie is an anti-crypto actor turned commentator who played a troubled teenager on an American television series called “The OC.”
The founder of MessariRyan Selkis, commented on the futility of witness selection:
The Senate Banking FTX hearing is a complete goat rodeo and mockery of the system.
I offered to go even though it would have been a distraction, but instead the Senate opted for the former child star of the OC and a “never crypto” academic.
Another waste of taxpayer $$$.
—Ryan Selkis (@twobitidiot) December 9, 2022
The SBF FTX audience is a complete roundup of goats and a mockery of the system. I offered to go even though it would have been a distraction, but instead the Senate opted for the former OC child star and “anti-crypto” academic. Another waste of taxpayer $$$.
For its part, Cointelegraph has contacted Ben McKenzie for comment on the matter.
In addition to the Dec. 14 Senate Banking Committee hearing, Bankman-Fried has also been invited to attend another hearing dubbed the “FTX Collapse Inquiry” on December 13 before the US House Committee on Financial Services.
Bankman-Fried was first requested to attend the hearing via a Twitter message from Congresswoman Maxine Waters, but apparently declined the invitation on December 5. stating that he was not sure what would happen on the date of the hearing, “but when it happens, I will testify.”
Waters responded on December 8 stating that “a subpoena is on the table” in case Bankman-Fried does not voluntarily testify at the hearing.
The collapse of SBF’s FTX empire has sparked a tsunami of reactions from US lawmakers and regulators that threaten to drown out the fledgling industry of crypto assets.
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