WASHINGTON, D.C.— Dennis M. Kelleher, Co-founder, President and CEO, issued the following statement in connection with tomorrow’s Senate Agriculture Committee, hearing to push a crypto bill that was FTX’s and Sam Bankman-Fried’s number one legislative priority:

“Given what has been reported about FTX’s and Sam Bankman-Fried’s reckless, fraudulent, illegal and possible criminal conduct, it is inexplicable that anyone would still be pushing a bill that was their top legislative priority.  It is also inexplicable to have the only witness be the CFTC Chair, who appeared for months to be working closely with FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried on their regulatory and legislative priorities, who said their favored bill should be passed “no questions asked,” and who suggested the price of Bitcoin could double if it was ‘regulated’ by his agency.

“There should be no rush to legislative judgment until all the facts related to the FTX implosion are known, including those related to the CFTC’s involvement and relationship with FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried, which the Wall Street Journal reported the CFTC has refused to disclose.  As highlighted by the bankruptcy trustee’s recent statements, it will be impossible in the near term to have any idea what happened at FTX and, therefore, it will be impossible to know how any legislation might or might not have prevented what happened at FTX.  Any push to pass the FTX-endorsed bills would be a blind rush to judgment that would likely endanger investors, customers, and financial stability.

“That’s why, for now, anyone considering the FTX-endorsed crypto bill that is the subject of the Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on December 1, 2022, should seek to answer the 10 key questions raised by the bill, located online here.”

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