For what seemed like the most significant financial task, lawmakers in the US recently gathered to shape the future of crypto in America. The all-crucial hearing titled “Crypto crash: Why Financial System Safeguards are needed for crypto assets,” held on the 14th of February sought to spell out what went wrong with the recent spate of bankruptcy filings and how to make it right in the future with appropriate regulatory policies.

Senator Sherrod Brown, the chairman of the house committee on banking and finance, began proceedings with a statement that the current “crypto nightmare isn’t over yet, and we are still learning the full extent of the damage.” In his opening remarks, he took a swipe at crypto’s obvious absence from the 57th Superbowl after it had dominated the half-time advertisement section of the game in 2021.

Up next was Deputy Chairman, Senator Tim Scott (R. South Carolina), who wasted no time in calling out the “elephant in the room” in reference to Gary Gensler, the chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Gensler had testified in front of the house in September last year, but Senator Scott believes another appearance is due in the light of the recent FTX crash. The crypto-friendly senator labelled the SEC “asleep on the wheel”, demanding an explanation for the general lack of regulatory oversight that has caused recent bankruptcy contagion.