California Representative Maxine Waters, a member of the United States House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, called for coordination and cooperation between government agencies and lawmakers to address cryptocurrency regulation.
In an interview with Cointelegraph, Representative Waters suggested that recent enforcement actions in the crypto space by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Trading Commission (CFTC) may have represented the idea of ”doing something substantial and meaningful” following the collapse of major exchanges including FTX. According to Waters, the market crash and related bankruptcies of major firms have given US lawmakers an opportunity to “take responsibility” in the crypto space.
“To the CFTC and to the SEC: I’m not going to get in the middle of any disagreement, any distaste, any of the approaches — the two of you better come together to deal with cryptocurrencies,” Waters said. “I think it’s time for the Treasury, the Feds, the CFTC, the SEC, all of us to come together on crypto.”
When Waters chaired the House Financial Services Committee, she supported a bill to regulate stablecoins in collaboration with the Treasury Department and Cointelegraph, she said she was “still optimistic” such legislation could pass under Chairman Patrick McHenry. She added that one of her legislative priorities in the new Congress was to bring clear regulation to the space — seemingly in an effort to bring more guidance on enforcement.
“The world is moving on cryptocurrencies: different countries, different things we still have to think about,” Waters said. “I believe it […] it has to be our priority.”
The congresswoman was one of the lawmakers who challenged former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried to testify at a House Financial Services Committee hearing in December 2022. Authorities detained Bankman-Fried in the Bahamas before he could remotely appear before Congress.
At the time of publication, the committee has not announced any further hearings on the FTX collapse or related events in the crypto space. However, Rep. Waters said she is “certain” there will be more than one hearing on crypto regulation during the current session of Congress.
“I have a lot of questions that I and my committee members would like to ask [Bankman-Fried]Waters said. “I want to look into the relationship between FTX and Alameda and exactly how much money they funneled into Alameda and what investments were made and what his relationship was with those investments. […] did he know and understand that he was committing fraud?’
Related: FTX hearings: US lawmakers criticize use of Quickbooks, ghost dough and ‘conscientious stupidity’
Many in the crypto space criticized Waters for politically “coddling” Bankman-Fried at the December 2021 hearing, later posing with the then CEO of FTX in the now viral photo. The congresswoman denied the rumors about her campaign donations received from FTX, saying she “didn’t receive a dime or a cent” and had nothing to do with the exchange’s contributions.
