Senate Banking Committee to Hold Second Hearing on Crypto Market Crash

The Senate Banking Committee of the United States Congress has planned a second hearing to investigate the effects that might result from a meltdown in the cryptocurrency market.

Sherrod Brown, the chair of the Senate Banking Committee, made a notice on February 3 stating that senators will get together on February 14 for a hearing entitled “Crypto Crash: Why Financial System Safeguards are Needed for Digital Assets.” The meeting of legislators will take place exactly two months after a hearing on December 14 in which they reviewed the failure of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

There are going to be some adjustments made before the Senate Banking Committee has its second hearing after the start of the 118th session of Congress, which is slated to begin soon. In the wake of Pat Toomey’s retirement, Senator Tim Scott will replace Senator Brown as the committee’s ranking member. Senator Brown will continue to serve as the committee’s chair. One of the legislative goals that Scott has set for himself is the creation of a crypto regulatory framework.

After FTX filed for bankruptcy, which affected a great number of retail investors around the United States, committees in both the House and the Senate decided to hold hearings on the matter. It is also anticipated that the House Financial Services Committee would conduct a second hearing on FTX at some point in the year 2023. At the time that this article was being published, there was no hearing listed on the agenda for the committee.

Ben McKenzie, an actor from Hollywood, Kevin O’Leary, a celebrity of the television show Shark Tank and an investor, Jennifer Schulp of the Cato Institute, and Hilary Allen, a law professor, were all witnesses at the hearing in December. Sam Bankman-Fried, the former chief executive officer of FTX, was detained in the Bahamas just before he was set to testify before the House Financial Services Committee. It is yet unknown who will take the stand at the hearing in February.