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November 13, 2022

Fact Sheet Setting the Record Straight on Crypto, FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, Jamie Dimon, the SEC and CFTC, and the Revolving Door

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Dennis M. Kelleher, Co-founder, President and CEO, released an in-depth Fact Sheet on the collapse of FTX, which also sets the record straight on FTX’s former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, JP Morgan’s CEO Jamie Dimon, crypto, the SEC, CFTC and banking regulators, the influence industry, and the revolving door.

In the Fact Sheet, Mr. Kelleher also discloses that FTX offered Better Markets “seven figures” to support its CFTC application as well as details of his meeting with Bankman-Fried. Better Markets has been a leading skeptic of FTX and vigorously opposed its proposal to the CFTC to offer non-intermediated, margined clearing of Bitcoin futures products that threatened customers and financial stability by eliminating critical layers of protections.

The Fact Sheet details the following key points:

  1. The fiction of crypto was visible to all who wanted to see it from JP Morgan’s CEO Jamie Dimon to Better Markets, as was made clear by Mr. Kelleher when questioning Bankman-Fried and FTX’s team in a meeting at Better Markets’ offices.
  2. There is no need for new legislation or regulation; what is needed are politicians to fully fund the regulators and to publicly support them (especially the SEC) in cracking down on the crypto industry.
  3. Complying with existing SEC rules is not the problem as crypto claims; the problem is crypto’s refusal to comply with the law and rules applicable to all other legitimate businesses.
  4. The CFTC, which shamelessly focused on expanding its jurisdiction by being a cheerleader for crypto, failed as the U.S. regulator of FTX while the SEC has aggressively enforced the law and tried to protect investors and markets.
  5. Crypto is a lawless industry by choice; it chose to bash regulators and use the influence industry to get minimal regulation through special interest legislation that would provide crypto with a bailout.
  6. The only reason the FTX and crypto collapse hasn’t caused a financial crisis, crash and bailouts is because regulators have rejected industry and political pressure and prevented crypto from being interconnected with the core of the financial and banking systems. 
  7. FTX and Bankman-Fried may be gone, but the crypto industry is still working overtime to get special interest legislation and a bailout.
  8. The widespread influence of the crypto industry (even after losing $2.5+ trillion!) once again highlights the corruption of the revolving door where former public officials sell out their public service to special interests.

You can find the Fact Sheet here.

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Better Markets is a non-profit, non-partisan, and independent organization founded in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to promote the public interest in the financial markets, support the financial reform of Wall Street and make our financial system work for all Americans again. Better Markets works with allies—including many in finance—to promote pro-market, pro-business and pro-growth policies that help build a stronger, safer financial system that protects and promotes Americans’ jobs, savings, retirements and more. To learn more, visit www.bettermarkets.org

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