FTX.US leaves D.C. crypto advocacy group

FTX’s American arm, FTX.US, has departed from the Crypto Council for Innovation, a digital asset industry trade group.

Sheila Warren, the head of the industry advocacy association, announced FTX.US’s departure in a statement.

“The Council has accepted the resignation of FTX.US as an associate member, and we remain committed to working towards building regulation that protects users and safeguards innovation, in order to bring about real change,” Warren said in an email to The Block. “The news this week has been shocking, but we’ve also seen the community come together.”

“We have an historic opportunity to get the policies right and the Crypto Council will continue to work to achieve that,” she said.

The departure comes in the context of FTX’s rapid collapse earlier this week. FTX.US told customers today that trading on its platform could end in coming days. Remaining members of the group include venture capital firm Andreesen Horowitz, Block (formerly Square), Coinbase, Gemini and Fidelity’s Digital Assets arm.

FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried became a familiar presence in Washington this year, as he advocated changes to Commodity Futures Trading Commission rules and for legislation that would grant more power to the agency in the regulation and oversight of digital asset markets. That advocacy and position as crypto’s best-known player in Washington became controversial to some connected to the industry.

Stephanie Murray contributed reporting to this story. 

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