- Maxine Waters demanded stronger crypto oversight after the reported $6.3B Binance hack.
- Trump questioned asset recovery as Binance customers reportedly faced lockouts.
- Selig said federal registration could extend U.S. derivatives market safeguards to crypto exchanges.
The $6.3 billion Binance hack prompted calls for stronger crypto oversight as Rep. Maxine Waters criticized the Trump administration.
President Donald Trump questioned whether stolen assets could be recovered, while customers reportedly remained unable to withdraw holdings. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Michael Selig and Sen. Cynthia Lummis pointed to regulatory measures which they said could strengthen exchange safeguards.
Trump Questions Binance Recovery and North Korea’s Role in Hack
Speaking to reporters at a press conference, Trump said officials were investigating whether North Korean hackers were responsible. Trump said Binance had indicated it would ensure customers received their funds, although he questioned whether the assets could be recovered. Comparing digital transactions with signing checks, he described digital money as potentially dangerous.
In a CNBC interview, Mike Selig argued that Binance operated outside the CFTC’s federal supervision and lacked safeguards available in U.S. markets. His comments came as the agency advanced its October 5 proposal for a federal crypto framework covering leveraged and margined retail transactions.
The plan included a new registration category for exchanges offering those products. Selig said federal registration could bring safeguards used in U.S. derivatives markets to crypto exchanges, including protections against cybersecurity risks.
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Waters Cites Customer Lockout and Questions Trump’s Binance Ties
Rep. Maxine Waters, the House Financial Services Committee’s top Democrat, said millions of Binance customers could not access or withdraw their funds. She said the exchange was seeking billions to cover customer losses.
The California lawmaker accused Trump and congressional Republicans of weakening crypto compliance requirements and oversight. She also criticized the Trump family’s connections to Binance.
Waters alleged that Binance founder Changpeng Zhao provided more than $2 billion to the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial. She linked that allegation to the dismissal of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s case against Binance and Zhao, as well as Trump’s pardon of him.
Her statement called for stronger consumer protections, tougher financial crime and cybersecurity standards, and greater accountability across the crypto industry. She said Committee Democrats would continue pressing those demands as Binance worked to compensate customers.
Meanwhile, in a post on X, Cynthia Lummis argued that the CLARITY Act would have provided legal protection for crypto firms to freeze suspicious transactions immediately after contact from law enforcement.
The Binance hack has renewed debate over how crypto exchanges should be regulated and held accountable when security failures put customer funds at risk. While Selig and Lummis pointed to federal registration and the CLARITY Act as potential safeguards, Waters called for stronger oversight and consumer protections. The debate now centers on whether proposed regulatory measures can address the security and accountability gaps exposed by the incident.
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Related: OKX CEO Urges Crypto Exchanges to Unite After $6.3B Binance Hack
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