In an interview with Fox, Emmer said that FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried pushed for legislation for the industry with the same goals, not a failure of cryptocurrencies, but rather of centralized finance, business ethics and government supervision.
The SEC's failure to avert the catastrophe has raised major questions, according to the lawmaker. They were working with Sam Bankman-Fried and others to give them special treatment from the SEC that others aren't getting, Emmer said.
Sam Bankman- Fried was pushing special-treatment legislation through Congress. When it was finally revealed what it was, and the industry started raising red flags all over the place, that was when this thing came apart, he added.
Emmer said SEC Chair Gary Gensler has not safeguarded investors against such disasters, such as the repercussions of Celsius, Voyager and Terra earlier this year.
What is the role of the regulators in the community, and working backroom deals with people who are doing nefarious things? He said something.
Bankman-Fried responded by telling Benzinga that neither FTX US nor FTX International were primarily regulated by the SEC. FTX US is solvent and without issues that FTX International has; FTX International doesn't take US customers and isn't a US business. Bankman- Fried said that no customers in US regulators' jurisdictions were impacted by this.
According to a report by The American Prospect, Emmer was one of the members of Congress who tried to halt the investigation of FTX by the SEC.
In March, eight House members — four Democrats and four Republicans — questioned the power of the SEC to contact informally criptocurrency and blockchain companies, and hinting that the queries might be illegal under federal law.
Emmer, who was recently elected by the Republican caucus to the role of majority whip, was the third position in the House GOP leadership.
In a March 2022 Twitter thread, Emmer wrote: My office received several tips from cryptanalysts firms that SEC Chair GaryGensler sinformation reporting requests to the community are overburdensome, don't feel particularly voluntary and stifling innovation. What's next: Chainalysis Is A Creditor In FTX Bankruptcy Case?