The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair, Gary Gensler, currently finds himself under investigation by the regulator’s ethics committee. This probe relates to Gensler’s alleged connection with Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the founder of the now-bankrupt crypto trading platform, FTX Derivatives Exchange. Questions have been raised about Gensler’s 45-minute Zoom call with SBF in March 2022, due to concerns about the SEC Chair failing to request permission from the office of the Ethics Counsel to attend the meeting.
Such a breach of protocol has fueled further suspicions about Gensler and Bankman-Fried’s relationship, while many in the crypto ecosystem bemoan the lack of accessibility to the top market regulator. The discovery of this omission in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act has intensified the situation. An SEC spokesperson claimed the meeting was pre-approved by the ethics committee; however, no documentation has been provided to support this assertion. This lack of transparency raises red flags for investigators, leading Thomas Jones, president of the American Accountability Foundation, to call for more information around the circumstances of the meeting.
Meanwhile, FTX Derivatives Exchange’s creditors and users are still reeling from their losses, and while there is hope for some restitution in the future, a clear resolution remains uncertain. Legal fees continue to climb into the millions, benefiting lawyers rather than the platform’s clients. As investigators delve further into FTX’s operations under Bankman-Fried’s leadership, the fate of the funds hangs in the balance.
On the other hand, it is important to consider that Gensler may have simply made an oversight by not requesting permission from the Ethics Counsel. If so, this situation could be chalked up to an honest mistake, and the focus should shift back to FTX’s creditors and users. Nevertheless, this story represents an unfortunate turn of events for Gensler, who now finds himself at the center of an ethics controversy while trying to enforce regulations in the rapidly evolving world of cryptocurrencies.
It remains to be seen how the ethics committee’s investigation will pan out and if any wrongdoing will be attributed to Gensler. However, one thing is clear: both regulators and the public will be paying close attention to the case’s development, as transparency and fairness in the crypto market is crucial to the ecosystem’s overall success.
Source: Coingape
