The Head of the U.S. CTFC to be questioned

In the first of a couple of congressional hearings to investigate FTX’s oversight, members of the Senate Agriculture Committee are feasible to push Rostin Behnam, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, over whether the disruption could have been bypassed with better oversight.

The hearing, named “Lessons Learned From the FTX Collapse and the Need for Congressional Action,” will happen at 10 am Eastern Time (1500 GMT).

The committee, which leads the CFTC, could further press Behnam on meetings within the commodities regulator and FTX team, covering founder Sam Bankman-Fried. The CFTC held numerous meetings with FTX over its application to immediately clear customer trades, Behnam spoke Monday at a Financial Times event.

CFTC refused to comment. Offices for Sen. Debbie Stabenow, the Democratic chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and its Republican ranking fellow Sen. John Boozman did not directly reply to a request for comment.

Bankruptcy filed

FTX filed for bankruptcy, and Bankman-Fried strolled down as chief executive on Nov. 11, days after traders drew $6 billion from the platform and rival exchange Binance dumped a rescue deal.

Behnam has earlier demanded more authority from lawmakers to handle digital assets at the CFTC. Nevertheless, he stated that more clearly explained rules may have continued FTX’s expiration on Monday.

The CFTC, which normally oversees derivatives markets hogged by large players such as money managers, has the authority to break down fraud and wrongdoing but does not have the authority to regulate spot markets.

Regulators are also clashing over who should take primary accountability for overseeing the crypto market. Many Senate Agriculture Committee associates have formerly agreed with Behnam that the CFTC should take on a more extensive role.