Congresswoman Maxine Waters, chair of the House Financial Services Committee, has requested the former CEO of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), to attend a congressional hearing concerning the collapse of his cryptocurrency exchange. Bankman-Fried states he will testify following completion of learning and reviewing what happened.

Bankman-Fried Replies to Rep. Waters’ Invitation

The US House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services will hold a hearing on the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX on December 13. Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), chair of the committee, has been attempting to contact former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) to attend the hearing. Waters was not given authorization to issue a subpoena to compel her presence. Waters politely asked her via Twitter on Friday.

“We understand that you have been open in your discussions about what happened at FTX. Your willingness to talk to the public will aid customers, investors, and other stakeholders. To that end, we would appreciate your participation in our hearing on the 13th,” she tweeted.

Bankman-Fried replied to Waters on Twitter on Saturday:

Once I have finished reviewing and learning, I believe it is my duty to explain the situation to the committee. I am not sure if that will happen on the 13th. But it will happen when it does. I will testify.

Waters insists that SBF should attend next week’s hearing

Congresswoman Waters answered Bankman-Fried on Monday: “Based on her role as CEO and her interviews with the media over the past several weeks, it is evident to us that the information she has thus far is adequate testimony.” In her statement, she wrote:

As you all know, the FTX crashes have affected over a million people. Not only would members of the committee benefit from your testimony, but all citizens could also benefit. It is important to remember that it is not only necessary, but also crucial for the American people.

Waters emphasized: “It is essential that you attend our hearing on the 13th, and we are willing to schedule additional hearings if there is more information to share later.”

As of this writing, Bankman-Fried has not yet responded to Waters.

Many people on social media have criticized Waters for her courtesy towards Bankman-Fried. Several people urged the lawmaker not to question SBF on social media, and to issue a subpoena for her to testify.

However, some speculate Waters is being courteous to Bankman-Fried because the former FTX boss was the second-largest contributor to the Democratic Party during the 2021-22 electoral cycle. According to OpenSecrets, he donated $39,884,256 for the cause. Before FTX collapsed, he was forced to file for bankruptcy. However, Tesla and Twitter CEO Elon Musk believes SBF’s absolute support for Democrats exceeded $1 billion.

What do you think about Rep. Maxine Waters asking Bankman-Fried to attend her congressional hearing? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.

kevin helms

Kevin is an anonymous Austrian Economics student who found Bitcoin in 2011. His interests lie in Bitcoin security, open-source systems, network effects, and the intersection between economics and cryptography.