Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) expressed concern on Wednesday over jailed fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried’s endorsement of a cryptocurrency market structure bill.
Warren Questions SBF’s Endorsement
Warren said in an X post that a person like Bankman-Fried endorsing the legislation—aka the CLARITY Act—from prison should “set off alarm bells.”
“Any crypto market structure bill must protect investors, our financial system, and American taxpayers,” the senior lawmaker added.
The CLARITY Act, which proposes to split cryptocurrency oversight between the SEC and the CFTC, sailed through the lower chamber last year. The bill remains stalled in the Senate.
Bankman-Fried, currently serving a 25-year prison term for the FTX fraud, hailed the legislation as a “huge milestone” for crypto and a “huge achievement” for President Donald Trump.
“I was championing a similar bill to get crypto out of [Gary] Gensler’s hands when Gensler helped [Joe] Biden’s DOJ put me behind bars,” he claimed.
A New Ploy By SBF?
Judges and prosecutors found that Bankman-Fried, popularly known as SBF, siphoned more than $8 billion in customer assets. He was convicted of misappropriating funds from the exchange and using money for personal expenses, political contributions and venture capital investments. The event sparked a cryptocurrency bear market, sending coins like Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) to new depths.
However, he filed a request for a new trial earlier this month, alleging that the Justice Department under Joe Biden threatened key defense witnesses from testifying. He also claimed that FTX was “never bankrupt,” blaming Sullivan & Cromwell lawyers for filing a bigus bankruptcy case.
Lately, SBF has tried to strike a chord with Trump by lauding his cryptocurrency policies. He has also tried to paint Judge Lewis Kaplan, who sentenced him to prison and also presided over Trump’s federal defamation trial, as a common adversary.
Interestingly, SBF donated to Biden’s 2020 campaign and leaned center-left until he became “disillusioned” with what he saw in Washington, D.C.
Trump, meanwhile, has indicated he has no intention of pardoning SBF.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo Courtesy: Bryan J. Scrafford on Shutterstock.com
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