US Congressman to investigate the SEC’s Role in the FTX Collapse

Ritchie Torres (D-NY) claimed that Gensler was “singularly responsible” for the failure to stop FTX from failing.

An independent investigation into the Securities and Exchange Commission’s failure to stop the historic collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX is being demanded by a Democratic congressman.

In a letter sent Tuesday, Representative Ritchie Torres (D-NY) strongly asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct an independent review of the SEC’s actions—or lack thereof—in the months leading up to FTX’s implosion last month.

The letter highlighted Gary Gensler, the SEC chair, for asserting sole regulatory authority over crypto exchanges, yet neglecting to impose effective measures of regulation.

Torres questioned why Gary Gensler, the Securities and Exchange Commission Chair, had not uncovered the largest crypto Ponzi scheme in US history if he was claiming to have the authority to do so.

Torres concluded that one cannot have both authority and avoid accountability.

The letter made it clear that Gensler was “solely responsible” for the regulatory oversights that led to the downfall of FTX.

Torres slammed Gensler for probing personalities such as Kim Kardashian instead of crypto trading platforms such as FTX.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a fine of $1.26 million to Kardashian in October for promoting EthereumMax, a cryptocurrency that the agency determined to be an unregistered security.

To draw attention to the action, the SEC released a video featuring Chairman Gensler, an uncommon practice for the usually mundane area of securities law.