US CFTC Chairman: Under current law, many tokens constitute commodities
Rostin Behnam, chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), admitted in an interview with CNBC that many tokens constitute commodities under current law. Behnam stated that we are trying to figure out how existing, decades-old laws adapt to this seemingly changing new technology, and ultimately need a new approach centered around policy and legislation. Under current law, many tokens constitute commodities. This direct statement provides much-needed clarity on the regulatory status of cryptocurrencies in the United States. Rostin Behnam also delved into the complex regulatory issues facing the cryptocurrency industry and emphasized the urgent need for legislative action. Behnam stated, I think members of Congress are trying to figure it out. Integrating new digital assets into traditional regulatory models is a challenge. Behnam also emphasized CFTC's commitment to stable markets in the interview.
People familiar with the matter: Coinbase is working with CFTC to determine the scope of trading data sharing
According to a source confirmed by media outlet Decrypt, Coinbase is working with the CFTC to determine which trading data can be shared.
People familiar with the matter: Coinbase receives subpoena from CFTC related to Bybit
The Block cited sources as saying that Coinbase has sent emails to some customers stating that they have received a subpoena from the US regulatory agency CFTC regarding Bybit. In the email, Coinbase stated: "You do not need to take any action, but Coinbase may respond to the subpoena unless a motion to quash is served or other opposition is made to the subpoena served on the court before November 30, 2023, including sending information about your Coinbase account to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission." According to its enforcement manual, the CFTC has certain powers to investigate, including through voluntary statements and subpoenas. In an article in May, Coinbase stated that US law requires Coinbase to collect information, including matters related to subpoenas.
U.S. CFTC comments on Binance case: Plans to continue to actively pursue illegal crypto exchanges and will not tolerate circumvention of KYC rules
According to the latest developments in the CZ and Binance case, Christy Goldsmith Romero, a commissioner of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), stated that there are no "pirate ships" in the US market, and that "contacting US customers is a privilege, not a right". The CFTC plans to continue actively investigating cryptocurrency exchanges that violate trade laws and will not tolerate behavior that may circumvent KYC rules, including only requiring users to prove they are not in the US in a pop-up prompt box. CFTC Commissioner Caroline D. Pham stated in another statement that the CFTC's jurisdiction has no borders, and the CFTC will not stop its investigation of non-US entities. (Business Insider)
CFTC fines Binance’s former chief compliance officer $1.5 million
Caroline Pham of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) stated that in addition to fines against Binance and CZ, if the proposed settlement plan is approved by the judge, Binance's former chief compliance officer Samuel Lim will also pay a fine of $1.5 million. This is the first time that the CFTC has held a compliance executive personally responsible.
Former U.S. SEC General Counsel: There is no regulatory inconsistency between the SEC and CFTC in terms of encryption supervision
Dan M. Berkovitz, former SEC general counsel and CFTC commissioner, stated in an interview that it is necessary to further revise securities or commodity laws related to the regulation of the cryptocurrency market. Existing commodity and securities laws are sufficient to regulate derivative and securities markets. These laws are flexible enough to adapt to new technologies such as cryptocurrency and blockchain trading assets. Berkovitz does not believe that there is a "difference" between the CFTC and SEC in regulating digital assets. The former SEC general counsel claims that Congress urgently needs to provide additional powers for non-security digital assets in the spot market, and the coordination between the CFTC and SEC on cryptocurrency issues is the same as the coordination on other overlapping issues. These two agencies do not always have the same views on issues, and considering their respective jurisdictions, it is normal for there to be some differences, but I do not think that any such differences in cryptocurrency will rise to the level of a "crack".
CFTC Commissioner Kristin Johnson says rules are needed to protect crypto customers’ assets
According to the leader of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), their agency needs to take warnings about cryptocurrencies seriously and call for rules to regulate the field. Two Democratic CFTC commissioners, Christy Goldsmith Romero and Kristin Johnson, have been pushing the agency to issue rules or guidance over the past week to address conflicts of interest in cryptocurrencies and protect consumers. Johnson said at a meeting at the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank on Monday that the failures of FTX, Binance, Celsius, and Voyager show the need to protect customers by isolating and protecting their deposits. Therefore, the CFTC should "immediately develop regulations on asset custody," Johnson said, adding that rules for managing cryptocurrencies could be issued in the coming weeks. Johnson said, "The CFTC has a way to strengthen protection of customer assets through rules that isolate or separate customer property. These rules simply say that you cannot mix company funds with customer proprietary funds." (The Block)
CFTC Chairman: It is possible for an incident like FTX to happen again
Rostin Behnam, chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), stated that after nearly a year since the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX (resulting in billions of dollars in losses for customers), "nothing has changed and we may face another FTX-type event." Behnam believes that Congress needs to develop a roadmap, echoing his comments at last year's Senate Banking Committee hearing. He then stated that the CFTC lacks the power to fully regulate the digital commodity market, and in order to prevent this from happening again, Congress must provide appropriate powers to it.
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CFTC: Number of cryptocurrency enforcement actions hits record high this year
According to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), in 2023, CFTC filed 47 lawsuits related to digital asset commodity-related behavior, accounting for more than 49% of all lawsuits filed during the same period.
