FTX's CEO To Appear Before US House Financial Services Committee
10:43 GMT 05.12.2022 (Updated: 12:47 GMT 05.12.2022)
© AP Photo / Kin Cheung
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Cryptocurrency is a type of digital currency whose internal units are accounted for by a decentralised payment system. The term "cryptocurrency" was coined in an article about Bitcoin headed 'Crypto currency' which appeared in 2011. Many other authors used the term "electronic cash".
Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and chief executive of infamous FTX, wrote on Sunday in his social media account that he would testify before the US House Financial Services Committee.
Representative [committee chairwoman Maxine] Waters, and the House Committee on Financial Services: Once I have finished learning and reviewing what happened, I would feel like it was my duty to appear before the committee and explain. I'm not sure that will happen by the 13th. But when it does, I will testify.
Bankman-Fried's reply followed an invitation from the House Committee on Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters, which she issued on 2 December:
“We want him here,” said Waters to American media. “If he’s talking and giving interviews, we’d like for him to be just as candid with us.”
She later publicly expressed the request via social media:
.@SBF_FTX, we appreciate that you've been candid in your discussions about what happened at #FTX. Your willingness to talk to the public will help the company's customers, investors, and others. To that end, we would welcome your participation in our hearing on the 13th.
— Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) December 2, 2022
FTX is a cryptocurrency exchange, which was founded in 2019. At its peak in 2021 it had more than a million users and was the third-largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume.
The collapse of FTX began with an article published on 2 November by an information platform, specializing in the cryptocurrency sector. The article contained information that substantial FTX funds were allegedly used to cover the losses of Alameda Research, a cryptocurrency trading business, co-founded in September 2017 by Bankman-Fried and Tara Mac Aulay. The exchange then started to hemorrhage investors who withdrew their money and sold FTT tokens. In only three days, several billion dollars were withdrawn from the exchange.
After that, Changpeng Zhao, chief executive of rival exchange Binance, said that his exchange would sell its FTT assets. That resulted in a surge in customer withdrawals from FTX, leaving it unable to cope. FTX filed for bankruptcy protection on 11 November 2022.
