Trump’s Pick for SEC Chair Blamed the US for FTX Crypto Disaster

Paul Atkins, Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, once blamed an unusual suspect for the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX crypto exchange: The US government itself.

Atkins, 66, had a front row seat to the FTX disaster that still resonates through the digital-asset world. His Washington-based consulting firm Patomak Global Partners is listed as a creditor in the FTX bankruptcy for a board-advisory consulting agreement dated January 2022, about 10 months before Bankman-Fried’s firm blew up. It also served as an FTX lobbyist, according to court documents.

“The collapse of FTX was this international debacle ...