Coinbase, FTX, Binance get US House Committee inquiries over consumer protection concerns

The US House Committee on Oversight and Reform has reportedly sent letters to five major cryptocurrency exchanges in the country, asking for details and documents relating to consumer protection measures around crypto scams and fraud.

On 30 August, CNBC highlighted that Coinbase, Binance.US, FTX, Kraken and KuCoin, had all been sent inquiries.

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The committee also sent letters to four government agencies – the Department of Treasury, the US Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Federal Trade Commission, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the report added.

Per the publication, this comes as the committee seeks to take a proactive approach to the issue of ensuring American investors are safe amid the face of growing crypto-related schemes. For instance, an FTC research into fraudulent projects and schemes showed that crypto users have lost over $1 billion since 2021.

The exchanges and the government agencies have until 12 September 2022 to respond, providing pertinent information regarding consumer protection. For the exchanges, the committee requires documents from 1 January 2009, details of which Congress could use to craft legislative solutions.