The liquidity crisis that brought the FTX exchange to the brink and affected the entire cryptocurrency ecosystem is the US regulators.

Now, officials from the US Department of Justice (DoJ) are working with lawyers to investigate everything related to the FTX liquidity crisis. According to Bloomberg, they worked together to understand why the crypto exchange's CEO, Samuel Bankman-Fried, sought support from Binance and other industry players.

In addition, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has joined the investigation launched by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) a few months ago. Its purpose was to determine whether FTX and its trading company Alameda Research were actually using client funds for trading activities, the media quoted in another publication added.

Sam Bankman-Fried told investors that without immediate access to new funds, FTX would have to file for bankruptcy. Meanwhile, exchange user funds remained trapped after all withdrawals were suspended. Now, customers of the cryptocurrency exchange are becoming increasingly concerned after noticing a red banner on the company's home page:

"FTX is currently unable to process withdrawals. We do not accept deposits."

In this sense, the CFTC may take coercive measures if a crime of fraud or manipulation is proven. Since the SEC may have an interest in determining whether securities laws have been violated. However, due to the lack of regulation or laws regarding cryptocurrency transactions in the United States, it is unclear what laws apply to such events.

FTX has caught the attention of regulators

Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Rostin Behnam announced last May that the FTX proposal would be reviewed. At the time, the cryptocurrency exchange proposed creating a “direct clearing” or broker-less model to directly settle its clients’ margin-backed derivative contracts.

The Bankman-Fried proposal reflects the abolition of so-called clearing houses in the traditional financial system, which became a legal requirement after the 2008-2009 financial crisis. financial crisis of the year.

The clearing house itself provides assurances that buyers or sellers do not have sufficient funds to conduct business.

Interestingly, before the CFTC, the CEO of FTX questioned the operations that led to the collapse of Lehman Brothers in the 2008 financial crisis. Now, some in the industry are linking the FTX incident to the Lehman Brothers incident.

Again, it is strange that Rostin Behnam reversed his position a few months later, saying that the FTX proposal could mark an "evolution" in how the market works.