Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the failed FTX cryptocurrency exchange, says he is willing to testify before Congress on Tuesday though he might have limited information about what led to his company’s stunning collapse.
House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters, California Democrat, told Mr. Bankman-Fried to appear for the Dec. 13 hearing she scheduled to help Congress determine what happened and how it should regulate the crypto market.
“I still do not have access to much of my data — professional or personal. So there is a limit to what I will be able to say, and I won’t be as helpful as I’d like,” Mr. Bankman-Fried tweeted Friday in response.
He said he can shed some light on FTX’s solvency and what it means for American customers, ways to “return value” to users around the world, what led to the crash and “my own failings.”
The Bahamas-based crypto exchange collapsed in November after reports about its relationship with another trading partner sparked massive withdrawals and bankruptcy filings.
The debacle left customers scrambling to recover their money and sparked a flurry of congressional statements about the need for stricter oversight of the crypto markets.
Members of Congress agree there should be greater oversight of the crypto sector, but they haven’t settled on a plan. Some in Washington would like to subject the crypto industry to the same rules that govern other securities so that customers get more information about investment risks.
As Congress waits for his testimony, Mr. Bankman-Fried has launched an apology tour.
“I had thought of myself as a model CEO, who wouldn’t become lazy or disconnected. Which made it that much more destructive when I did,” he wrote Friday. “I’m sorry. Hopefully people can learn from the difference between who I was and who I could have been.”
