WASHINGTON, D.C.—Dennis Kelleher, Co-founder, President, and CEO of Better Markets, issued the following statement on the announcement by the Senate Banking Democrats on the Digital Assets Subcommittee naming Russ Behnam as their witness at a hearing tomorrow:

“Senate Banking Democrats on the Digital Assets Subcommittee just announced that their witness at a hearing tomorrow is going to be now-imprisoned, former FTX CEO Sam Bankman Fried’s “key ally” and shameless crypto booster Russ Behnam.  Sure, he was Biden’s Chair of the CFTC but in that capacity, he was a relentless cheerleader for FTX, SBF, and the entire crypto industry, casting aside customer, investor, and financial stability protections. He’s a big reason why FTX, SBF, and the crypto industry wanted the CFTC, the smallest, chronically underfunded, least capable and most easily capturable financial regulator, put in charge of crypto rather than the SEC, the real cops on the crypto beat. That’s why Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee picked him to be their witness just weeks ago to support the crypto industry’s agenda, including the misleadingly named CLARITY Act.

“As poll after poll has shown, the American people are overwhelmingly skeptical if not outright hostile to crypto. That includes a Harris poll last year (ironically purchased by the crypto industry) showing that 69% of likely voters in the swing states of Arizona, Nevada, Montana, Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania had negative views of crypto. It’s no surprise that less than 5% of America’s almost 130 million households own or used crypto in 2023 according to the FDIC. Those views are well-founded: crypto’s RAP sheet of crimes is long, broad, and deep, with millions of Americans victimized, including by ransomware and ‘pig butchering.’ But that doesn’t matter in Washington where the crypto industry poured money into last year’s campaigns and their special interests are now Washington’s priorities. That’s true even though crypto engaged in a classic bait-and-switch: it claims there are tens of millions of Americans who voted for crypto candidates and for pro-crypto policies when, according to Politico and the Wall Street Journal, crypto’s ads didn’t even mention crypto. That proves the industry itself knows that crypto is toxic to the American voter, who elected officials should be representing and protecting their interests against crypto’s lawless business model and criminal activities.

“No one is served by a one-sided hearing that lacks balance and a real discussion of the facts by credible witnesses, particularly on an issue that is going to dramatically impact the financial system and may well lead to an economic calamity and more taxpayer bailouts of financial firms.”