White House monitoring FTX collapse, calls for crypto industry regulation

The collapse this week of FTX dealt another blow to the cryptocurrency industry, which has seen severe volatility and bankruptcies of other high-profile firms, including Celsius Network Ltd

The White House said Friday it was closely monitoring the collapse of digital-asset empire FTX, citing its bankruptcy filing as proof the cryptocurrency industry required strong regulation.
 

The White House and other agencies were monitoring the situation, an administration official said, adding that Americans risked getting harmed without proper oversight of cryptocurrencies.

Friday’s bankruptcy filing of Alameda Research Ltd. and related firms -- including FTX.com and FTX US -- further underscored those concerns, according to the official, who asked not to be identified to speak on the matter.

The collapse this week of FTX -- one of the world’s largest exchanges for digital assets -- dealt another blow to the cryptocurrency industry, which has seen severe volatility and bankruptcies of other high-profile firms, including Celsius Network Ltd. and Voyager Digital Ltd. VTX alone reported more than 5 million users worldwide and more than $700 billion worth of crypto trading last year, and boasted high-profile celebrity endorsements.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are investigating whether FTX mishandled customer funds, according to people familiar with the matter.