Reported by: Lydia Beyoud, Yueqi Yang, and Olga Kharif

US regulators are investigating whether beleaguered crypto-exchange FTX.com mishandled customer funds, and they’re looking into the firm’s relationships with other parts of Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire.

The inquiries by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission relate to the liquidity crisis that has pushed FTX to the brink, according to three people familiar with the matter. The SEC’s scrutiny started months ago as a probe into FTX US and its crypto-lending activities, said two of the people, who who weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

FTX’s turmoil led to a tentative rescue offer by rival exchange Binance Holdings Ltd., which now may balk as the scope of FTX’s distress becomes more apparent. American regulators are also looking into the platform’s relationship with its American counterpart FTX US and Bankman-Fried’s trading house Alameda Research, two of the people said.

The CFTC’s jurisdiction over crypto is generally limited to derivatives, but the agency can take enforcement action if it believes there’s fraud or manipulation in the underlying market. The SEC claims oversight over digital coins that qualify as securities under its rules. Both regulators also oversee investment firms.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler has repeatedly warned about risks associated with digital-asset exchanges. He has said that many platforms may be violating securities laws by offering unregistered securities to Americans, improperly providing loans, or even front-running their clients’ trades.

Read full report: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-09/us-probes-ftx-empire-over-handling-of-client-funds-and-lending#xj4y7vzkg