WASHINGTON — Congress opted to tread water on legislation that would clarify the agency in charge of the cryptocurrency industry, leaving lawmakers now without a regulator to blame for missing the signs of the FTX collapse this month and facing deep skepticism about some proposals.
Rejecting one House Republican leader’s criticism of Securities and Exchange Chairman Gary Gensler, industry representatives and legal experts say Congress itself moved too slowly on legislation that would establish clear regulatory jurisdiction of the sector.
Joseph Hall, a partner at Davis Polk, said Congress failed to establish clear regulatory jurisdiction over cryptocurrency spot markets and trading platforms — jurisdiction that would have come with disclosures, inspections, treatment of customer funds, corporate governance and other rules.
