Before cryptocurrency exchange FTX and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) were charged for allegedly misappropriating user funds, SBF was one of the most influential cryptocurrency entrepreneurs. Prior to the FTX debacle, a leaked email exchange with top regulators purportedly indicated that SBF intended to subject the exchange to federal regulation.
According to The Washington Observer, on May 28, 2022, nearly six months before FTX filed for bankruptcy and SBF resigned as CEO, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Chairman Martin Grunberg ( Martin Gruenberg has received an invitation to meet with the SBF on June 13, 2022. The email was mediated by former CFTC Commissioner Mark Wetjen, who joined FTX US in November 2021 as head of policy and regulatory strategy.
Later in the email, Wetjen told Gruenberg that FTX is in the “unusual position of begging the federal government to regulate us.” He further added: “We filed an application with the CFTC that lays out how the agency can do this. All the CFTC has to do is approve it. Once the CFTC does it, others will follow other major U.S. exchanges have CFTC licenses.” At the request of SBF, Gruenberg agreed to meet with the duo, as seen in the leaked email below.
After FTX collapsed, SBF's political connections were uncovered in parallel investigations. An FDIC spokesperson confirmed that the FDIC chairman’s meeting with SBF was part of “routine courtesy visits with financial firm and agency leaders.” In addition to the federal investigation, FTX's new management has begun an internal investigation to track down the missing funds. SBF and five other former FTX and Alameda Research executives received $3.2 billion in payments and loans from FTX-related entities, according to recent court filings. SBF reportedly received the bulk of the funding, totaling $2.2 billion.
