Rep. Maxine Waters says all US regulators 'better get together on crypto'

California Representative Maxine Waters, ranking subordinate of the United States House Financial Services Committee, has called for coordination and practice betwixt authorities agencies and lawmakers to code crypto regulation.

Speaking to Cointelegraph, Representative Waters suggested that caller enforcement actions connected the crypto abstraction from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) whitethorn person been to contiguous the representation of “doing thing substantive and meaningful” pursuing the illness of large exchanges including FTX. According to Waters, the marketplace clang and related bankruptcies of large firms gave U.S. lawmakers an accidental of “getting accountability” successful the crypto space.

“To the CFTC and to the SEC: I americium not going to get successful betwixt immoderate disagreement, immoderate dislike, immoderate of the approaches — the 2 of you had amended travel unneurotic truthful that we tin woody with crypto,” said Waters. “I deliberation it’s clip for the Treasury, the Feds, the CFTC, the SEC, each of america amended get unneurotic connected crypto.”

When Waters chaired the House Financial Services Committee, she supported a measure to modulate stablecoins successful practice with the Treasury Department, telling Cointelegraph she was “still optimistic” specified authorities could walk nether seat Patrick McHenry. She added that bringing regulatory clarity to the abstraction — seemingly successful an effort to bring further guidance connected enforcement actions — was 1 of her legislative priorities successful the caller Congress.

“The satellite is moving connected crypto: antithetic countries, antithetic things we inactive person to deliberation about,” said Waters. “I bash judge that [...] it has to beryllium a precedence of ours.”

Representative Maxine Waters addressing lawmakers connected Feb. 6

The Congresswoman was 1 of the lawmakers who called connected erstwhile FTX main enforcement serviceman Sam Bankman-Fried to attest successful a December 2022 proceeding of the House Financial Services Committee. Authorities detained Bankman-Fried successful the Bahamas earlier helium could look remotely earlier Congress. 

At the clip of publication, the committee had not announced different proceeding into the illness of FTX oregon related events successful the crypto space. However, Representative Waters said she was “confident” determination would beryllium much than 1 proceeding exploring crypto regularisation arsenic portion of the existent legislature session.

“I person a batch of questions that I and members of my committee would privation to inquire [Bankman-Fried],” said Waters. “I privation to spell implicit the narration betwixt FTX and Alameda and precisely however overmuch wealth they funneled into Alameda and what benignant of investments were made and what was his narration to those investments [...] did helium cognize and recognize that helium was committing fraud?”

Related: FTX hearing: US lawmakers knock usage of Quickbooks, creepy dough and ‘conscientious stupidity’

Many successful the crypto abstraction person criticized Waters for politically 'cosying up' to Bankman-Fried successful a December 2021 hearing, aboriginal posing with the past FTX CEO successful a present viral photo. The Congresswoman denied rumors she accepted run donations from FTX, saying she had “not received 1 dime, not 1 penny” and had nary narration connected contributions from the exchange.