To the Texas Crypto Community and Legislators,

It is with sadness and frustration that we address the events that shook our industry last week. Our solidarity goes to the customers and members of our community who were directly impacted by FTX’s misappropriation of user funds.

This is a big hit for our young industry and has impacted the trust of legislators, investors, users, and builders. Despite the broad feelings of frustration that permeate the industry, we think it is important for organizations like ours, that are engaging with legislators on behalf of the industry to speak up.

First and foremost, we want to stress that the reckless actions of the people at the helm of FTX and Alameda do not speak on behalf of the entire industry. There are several organizations and individuals doing great things in the space, especially on the legislative front. We condemn the recent actions and categorically state that they do not represent the values this movement is based on.

Second, we want to highlight the importance of regulating centralized exchanges. Proof of reserves should become an industry-wide regulatory requirement and legislators should establish clear liquidity requirements for exchanges. Several of the industry blowbacks this year (Luna, Celsius, FTX, and others) have been related to insolvency, lack of reserve requirements, and opaque fund management. So we urge regulators to focus their efforts on the entities and patterns that have been causing damage to users and investors, not on creating unnecessary friction for innovators. We believe we can create a safer ecosystem while keeping innovation in our cities, state, and country.

Lastly, we would like to highlight the importance of grassroots crypto legislation for the progress of the industry. Samuel Bankman-Fried’s efforts in DC carried the vested interests of regulatory capture by FTX over that of the industry. And as long as the people interfacing with legislators - at any level - are CEOs of large companies, there will be space for private vested interests to triumph over what is best for the whole industry and the end-user.

These are troubling times, but they also highlight the importance of thoughtful regulation for our industry to flourish. ATX DAO will continue helping policymakers navigate the space and ask legislators to work closely with us to find the best path forward in these challenging times.