CFTC Chair Seeks Regulatory Clarity for Crypto

CFTC Chair Rostin Behnam has given his views on the potential for cryptocurrency regulation and what it could mean for the price of Bitcoin.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Discusses Crypto Regulation

Rostin Behnam is Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and was interviewed on Wednesday during a fireside chat at NYU School of Law. A bipartisan bill was introduced by the Senate Agriculture Committee, which oversees the CFTC, that looks to place the CFTC as the primary regulator for the crypto industry, to oversee crypto spot markets meaning crypto trading firms would need to register with the CFTC.
Behnam said,

“For us, the CFTC, the difficulty is, you know, we are a derivatives regulator. We don’t oversee cash markets. So the authority that I’ve been asking Congress for is cash authority – so that we can go into the Bitcoin cash market, the Ether cash market, and the other digital tokens.”

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Crypto Regulation Depends On 70-Year Old Case Law

One of the issues with regulation is whether assets such as Bitcoin (BTC) and more widely in the cryptocurrency space are securities or commodities. Behnam has stated,

“We have to rely on 70-year-old case law to determine what’s a security or a commodity. We have one case in New York that says Bitcoin is a commodity. There are other cases out there – we are just trying to figure it out.”

“Bitcoin Might Double In Price If There’s A CFTC-Regulated Market”

Behnam indicated that regulation that was driven by the CFTC could have substantial benefits for the cryptocurrency space, with a potential advancement for the Bitcoin price.
He stated,

“Growth might occur if we have a well-regulated space,” adding, “Bitcoin might double in price if there’s a CFTC-regulated market.”