CFTC chairman Rostin Behnam spoke today about which institution should control cryptocurrencies. He said he has instructed his agency to start preparing to become a fully funded regulator of the crypto market.
Rostin Behnam poised to become the most powerful cryptocurrency regulator
Rostin Behnam, chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said he has instructed his agency to begin preparing to become the major, fully funded regulator for most of the crypto market, as expected under Senate legislation. The CFTC and SEC are two regulatory lenses seeking greater control over cryptocurrencies. In his testimony to members of the Senate Agriculture Committee today, Behnam noted the need for more regulation:
The impact of market volatility on individual investors highlights the urgent need for regulatory clarity and market protections.
Legislation enacted to authorize the CFTC
Notably, Senator Debbie Stabenow and a leading Republican on the panel, Senator John Boozman, passed legislation last month that would give the agency broad powers, including the power to regulate cryptocurrencies. Despite this, Behnam lauded the legislation and additional agency financing scheme that would allow the CFTC to “act quickly” to establish new supervision and control over digital commodity assets. Courts, lawmakers and regulators have acknowledged that this includes Bitcoin. However, the status of other assets is still unclear.
All digital commodity platforms must provide adequate financial, operational and managerial resources, allocate client funds and comply with commission requirements for processing client assets.
Multiple cryptocurrency laws proposed around CFTC involvement
In the current situation, multiple laws have suggested that the CFTC take a key role in monitoring crypto. This momentum is expected to continue as startups get closer to crossing the finish line. Notably, the head of the CFTC claimed that the agency was ‘ready’ for the possibility of regulating crypto. On Thursday, September 15, several prominent players from the crypto industry were ready to appear before the committee. These figures included officials from Coinbase as well as trading firm Citadel Securities.
“We are at a crossroads when it comes to crypto,” said Christine Parker, vice president and general counsel at Coinbase. She asked lawmakers to set a clearer boundary between the commodities and securities on the bill. She also gave the following defense to regulators:
We can strengthen digital asset commodities by further defining them to ensure that assets that do not meet the definition of securities are regulated by the CFTC.
