Congress asks Coinbase, FTX, Binance, and more for info on $1 billion crypto fraud

Published , by Morgan Shaver

Congress and the House Committee on Oversight and Reform have been working to crack down on over $1 billion in crypto fraud reported since the start of 2021. To help further these efforts, it recently sent letters out to four agencies including the Department of the Treasury, Federal Trade Commission, and Commodity Futures Trading Commission, along with the Securities and Exchange Commision, for additional information.

It has also reached out to five different digital asset exchange companies including Coinbase, FTX, Binance, Kraken, and KuCoin. In the letters that have been sent out, these agencies and crypto exchanges have been asked to respond by September 12 with information regarding what they’ve done and are doing to protect consumers.

The committee is also seeking documents dating back through January 1, 2009 displaying efforts to combat crypto fraud and “identify, investigate, and remove or flag potentially fraudulent digital assets or accounts” along with proof as to whether there were ever talks to “to adopt more stringent policies.” With the responses it receives, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform aims to craft new legislative solutions, as outlined by outlets like CNBC.

© Coinbase

The situation as a whole is a messy one given everything that’s taken place around cryptocurrency over the last few years, especially when it comes to instances where certain exchange companies have seemingly failed to vet digital assets and protect consumers.

It’ll be interesting to see what information these agencies and exchange companies produce, and whether that’ll lead to legislation that’ll reduce the amount of fraud and bad practices surrounding cryptocurrency. For more on this, be sure to read through the full article from CNBC. And for more on the latest in the world of crypto, also be sure to read through some of our previous coverage including the US Treasury sanctioning crypto mixing service Tornado Cash for aiding hacker money laundering efforts.