Rep. Patrick McHenry, the chair of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, has expressed his intent to consider subpoenaing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for documents related to former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF).
During a hearing on September 27 focused on the committee's oversight, McHenry accused SEC Chairman Gary Gensler of lacking transparency regarding the relationship between the committees and of attempting to stifle the digital asset ecosystem, particularly FTX and SBF. McHenry stated that the committee had repeatedly requested documents concerning the timing of SBF's arrests in anticipation of previous planned congressional appearances.
McHenry expressed his growing impatience, saying, "As I said, our patience is wearing thin... I don't want to be the first committee chair to issue a subpoena to the SEC." Earlier this year, the committee requested documents from the SEC leadership pertaining to communications between its staff and the Justice Department regarding the Bankman-Fried allegations. McHenry reiterated these requests in April and May, alleging that the SEC had only provided public information.
Although the hearing initially focused on digital assets and regulation, Maxine Waters, the ranking member, raised concerns about the potential impact of a U.S. government shutdown on the SEC's operations. Gensler disclosed that if lawmakers fail to reach a spending agreement by September 30, approximately 92-93% of SEC staff could face layoffs.
In response to McHenry's query, Gensler clarified that Bitcoin is "not a security" because it does not meet the criteria of the Howey test for an investment contract. This stance aligns with his earlier assertion on BTC in 2018 when he was an MIT professor.
