House committee leader says Bankman-Fried has 'sufficient' knowledge for testimony

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., is not buying Sam Bankman-Fried's excuse for not testifying next week about the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange at a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee. 

"Based on your role as CEO and your media interviews over the past few weeks, it’s clear to us that the information you have thus far is sufficient for testimony," Waters, who chairs the committee, tweeted at Bankman-Fried from both her account and the committee's, referring to a series of interviews the disgraced crypto mogul has held with media outlets including The Block over the past week. 

Bankman-Fried said yesterday that he'd be willing to testify only "once I have finished learning and reviewing what happened." He mentioned that that might not occur in time for hearing scheduled on Dec. 13.

As FTX and sister trading firm Alameda Research fell into disarray last month amid a plunge in the value of a native token and a customer run on deposits, both chambers of Congress announced hearings to investigate. The question of whether Bankman-Fried, who has testified at congressional hearings before the collapse of the exchange, would make another appearance continues to linger.