The Chair of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is reportedly saying that only one crypto asset on the market counts as a commodity. According to a new report by Fortune, CFTC Chair Rostin Behnam says that Bitcoin (BTC), the leading digital asset by market cap, is the only virtual currency that can be considered […]
The post CFTC Chair Leaves Ethereum Hanging, Says Only Bitcoin Is a Commodity: Report appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has shared with Congress its plans to regulate the crypto market with “full oversight capabilities” if the proposed Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act becomes law. The regulator claims to have the right experience and expertise and believes that “Many digital assets constitute commodities.” Meanwhile, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has […]
The chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) says he is certain bitcoin and ether are commodities. He outlined how his agency is working with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to regulate the crypto sector, noting that “there are no customer protections right now in the crypto market.” Bitcoin and Ether […]
Rostin Behnam said it was "critically important to have a primary cop on on the beat" of an emerging market that included cryptocurrencies and stablecoins.
Acting chairperson of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, Rostin Behnam has likened the government agency’s enforcement of the digital asset space to a beat cop on duty.
At an Oct. 27 hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry to assume his position on a permanent basis, Behnam said to chairperson Debbie Stabenow the CFTC has been “aggressively pursuing enforcement cases” in the crypto space for some time, including its $100 million case against crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX and the $42.5 million in fines it levied against Tether and Bitfinex. However, he asked that the committee consider expanding the authority of the CFTC given the emerging digital asset market.
“This is the tip of the iceberg,” said Behnam. “As of yesterday, the total size of the digital asset market was $2.7 trillion. Among that $2.7 trillion, nearly 60% were commodities [...] given the size, the scope, and the scale of this emerging market, how it’s interfacing and affecting retail customers, and with the scale of the growth being so rapid, potential financial stability risks in the future, I think it’s critically important to have a primary cop on on the beat.”
Behnam also responded to a question from Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown on whether the CFTC would require “additional tools” to handle enforcement in the crypto space, saying the agency as well as the Securities and Exchange Commission would likely need “a regulatory structure for both securities and commodities.” Both groups in addition to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network currently handle digital asset regulation in the United States, but with different jurisdictional claims, resulting in a patchwork approach companies must navigate to legally operate.
“The markets and the market transactions that are taking place right now are a huge part of the risk that digital assets pose,” added Behnam.
Related: CFTC commissioner says agency has broad enforcement authority on crypto derivatives
There are currently only two commissioners serving at the CFTC out of the normal five since the departure of Dan Berkovitz earlier this month, Brian Quintenz in August, and former chair Heath Tarbert in January. Behnam — who has been serving as acting chair at the agency following Tarbert’s departure — is President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the CFTC. In addition, Biden has chosen Kristin Johnson and Christy Goldsmith Romero to fill two of the remaining three seats. All must be confirmed by the Democrat-controlled Senate.
On Friday, October 15, 2021, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that it had ordered the company Tether Holdings Limited and Ifinex Inc., the parent company of Bitfinex, to pay fines totaling $42.5 million. The CFTC accuses Tether of “making untrue or misleading statements and omissions of material fact in connection with the […]
The three officials tapped by the Biden administration for CFTC roles come with promising crypto credentials, but can they live up to the promise?
On Sept. 14, United States President Joe Biden revealed his picks to fill two vacant seats at the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). In addition, the president nominated Rostin Behnam, who has run the derivatives regulator as acting chairman since January, to assume the office on the permanent basis.
The appointments are unlikely to face serious obstacles on their way to confirmation, as nominees will have to secure a simple majority vote in a Senate currently controlled by Democrats. What can the crypto industry expect of the CFTC if Behnam assumes permanent chairmanship and Kristin Johnson and Christy Goldsmith Romero join the agency as commissioners?
In 2015, the CFTC came forward and defined Bitcoin (BTC) and other digital currencies as commodities under the U.S. Commodity Exchange Act, joining the ranks of U.S. government agencies engaged in the regulation of the cryptocurrency space. The agency also asserted jurisdiction in cases when “a virtual currency is used in a derivatives contract, or if there is fraud or manipulation involving a virtual currency traded in interstate commerce.”
The CFTC, which is designed to be five-strong when fully staffed, has been down to acting chairman and two commissioners this year. Heath Tarbert, the former chairman, departed in March, and Brian Quintenz stepped down at the end of August. Furthermore, Dan Berkovitz, one of the remaining commissioners, has announced his intention to leave on Oct. 15.
Nominations come amid the Biden administration being criticized for taking its time to fill vacant positions in several key regulatory agencies, including the CFTC. If confirmed, the new additions to the agency will give Democrats a 3-1 majority on the panel.
Acting Chairman Behnam has been with the CFTC since July 2017 when he had been sworn in as a commissioner. Serving under the crypto-friendly Chairman Giancarlo, Behnam has spoken favorably of digital currencies and their transformative potential on several occasions.
For one, speaking at a regulatory summit in 2018, Behnam opined that cryptocurrencies — or virtual currencies in the CFTC parlance — were set to become “part of the economic practices of any country, anywhere,” aptly observing that “some places, small economies, may become dependent on virtual assets for survival.” Finally, Behnam acknowledged limits to regulators’ reach if digital currencies continue to proliferate:
“These currencies will be outside traditional monetary intermediaries, like government, banks, investors, ministries, or international organizations."
More recently, the acting CFTC boss talked about the need for maintaining a constructive conversation between policymakers and innovators in the field of financial technology and how it is urgent for keeping U.S. innovation at home. In remarks in March 2020 regarding a crypto-related Commission action, Behnam stated:
“I have long advocated for a more inclusive conversation regarding the advent of financial technology, believing that a thorough examination and discussion of the technology within our current legal and regulatory framework will best serve technologists, market participants, and customers.”
It sounds like what the industry is longing for, doesn’t it? Yet, it would be premature to base expectations of the derivatives regulator’s future policies on these declarations alone. After all, like any U.S. financial regulator whose statutory goal is market participants’ protection in the first place, the CFTC can always be expected to err on the side of caution when innovation is perceived to be at odds with consumer safety.
Commenting on the recent settlement between BitMEX with both the CFTC and FinCEN, Behnam noted: “The CFTC will take prompt action when activities impacting CFTC jurisdictional markets raise customer and consumer protection concerns.”
Biden’s two picks for the vacant CFTC commissioner seats are Emory University law professor Kristin Johnson and Christy Goldsmith Romero, the current special inspector general of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, a federal law enforcement agency that deals with financial crimes related to the U.S. government’s bailout program.
Professor Kristin Johnson's recent work focuses on the implications of emerging financial technologies including distributed digital ledger technology (DLT) and artificial intelligence (AI) for financial regulation. Prior to her academic appointments at Emory and, before that, Tulane, she worked in corporate finance, most notably as assistant general counsel and vice president at JP Morgan.
In her capacity as the TARP Inspector General, Christy Goldsmith Romero investigates financial institution crime related to bailouts executed under the program. In this role, she works closely with the SEC, an agency where she previously served as senior counsel in the enforcement division.
On the surface, the trio appears to be a winning combination of an innovation-friendly chairman, a legal scholar with a deep understanding of cutting-edge financial technology and an expert financial crime investigator.
Daniel Davis, a partner at law firm Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP and former general counsel for the CFTC, believes that each of Biden’s picks has the potential to bring positive changes for crypto regulation. Acting Chairman Behnam, if he assumes the office permanently, will be in an excellent position to move the regulatory conversation forward.
Related: Slow to start: Crypto regulators lagging behind blockchain industry
In addition to that, Ms. Johnson and Ms. Goldsmith Romero each bring excellent crypto-related credentials to their potential roles as commissioners. Davis further noted regarding the two nominees:
“Both have taught law school courses related to crypto. Ms. Johnson has also written extensively on topics such as financial services regulation and how decentralized finance (DeFi) could fit within the current regulatory structure with some innovative ideas. One would expect that crypto-related issues would form an important part of their respective agendas if confirmed.”
In this light, it is indeed tempting to view the prospective CFTC reinforcements with optimism, but with some reservations. For one, as the example of the current SEC boss Gary Gensler shows, being knowledgeable about digital finance and teaching blockchain classes at a top university does not necessarily translate into becoming the crypto industry’s ally when the person assumes a high office at a regulatory agency.
