A CFTC commissioner has urged crypto industry whistleblowers to come forward in the aftermath of FTX Group's implosion, saying tipsters have previously received millions of dollars for their help.
Kristin Johnson of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's aid on Thursday that informants would get anonymity, adding that such tips play a crucial role in enforcement given the opaqueness of some of the crypto world.
"In the context of the digital-asset space, the value of having those vocal whistleblowers and tipsters is critical," Johnson said in an interview on the sidelines of a City & Financial Global conference in London, adding that crypto frauds can be "heartbreaking."
When it comes to payments to people who contribute to the CFTC's ability to identify, investigate and prosecute cases, "the numbers are very big," she said.
Under the CFTC's rules, whistleblowers can get awards worth between 10% and 30% of the money the agency collects in penalties from a case. The regulator
Johnson added that the appeal was intended "very broadly" and not just for FTX. "All we can do is put out the call because if someone is allowed to get away with it having done it once they will do it again."
U.S. regulators are investigating whether
Advisors overseeing the ruins of FTX have laid bare a
Johnson suggested that lawmakers should expand the jurisdiction of the CFTC to cover the spot market, and to make sure it can act if its believes that U.S. customers or markets could be affected by activity on a platform outside the U.S.
"It is ever more critical that we are vigilantly closing those regulatory gaps, tightening and weaving together the spaces where actors might act in the shadows," she said.
— With assistance from Allyson Versprille and Ben Bain.
