New CFTC proposal requires exchanges to segregate customer and company cash to protect crypto derivatives traders
US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is developing a proposal to ensure that more derivative exchanges separate customer funds from company cash. The draft will expand the scope of CFTC's existing regulation to apply to exchanges that allow customers to trade without going through a broker. CFTC Democratic member Kristin Johnson said that the proposal would help prevent FTX from competing for customer funds from its subsidiary LedgerX, which is regulated by CFTC.
Kristin Johnson said that the rules requiring customer asset segregation should apply to any company using or seeking a similar direct-to-customer model, regardless of whether they offer crypto products or other types of derivatives. Given events such as the collapse of FTX, CFTC should take immediate action to develop rules to prevent customer funds from being misused or lost.
In fiscal year 2023, the CFTC filed a total of 47 lawsuits against the encryption industry, accounting for 49% of its total regulatory cases.
According to the annual enforcement snapshot released by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Tuesday, the agency filed 47 lawsuits against the cryptocurrency industry in the 2023 fiscal year. Last year, about 20% of CFTC cases involved cryptocurrencies, compared to 49% this year.
CFTC Pursues Record Number of Crypto Cases, Resulting in Over $4.3 Billion in Penalties and Restitution
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has reported a record number of cases in the digital asset space, with 47 actions involving conduct related to digital asset commodities resulting in over $4.3 billion in penalties, restitution and disgorgement. The CFTC has cemented its reputation as a premier enforcement agency in the crypto space, according to its statement. The regulator has pursued some of the biggest actions in the space, including charges against collapsed digital asset exchange FTX, Binance and bankrupt crypto lender, and has also settled charges against a number of decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols.
CFTC Commissioner: Institutions are interested in investing in cryptocurrencies, market is ready for spot Bitcoin ETF
On October 24th, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Commissioner Summer Mersinger commented on the recent surge in Bitcoin prices, stating that investing in cryptocurrency is no longer a "fad". Mersinger noted that certain Bitcoin-related ETFs have been trading for some time and that institutions are interested in investing in cryptocurrency. He said, "I think people are interested in these products and the market is ready for the listing of these products (spot Bitcoin ETFs)."
Former Voyager CEO Faces Lawsuits from CFTC and FTC for Fraudulent Activities
The former CEO of lending platform Voyager, Steve Ehrlich, has been hit with lawsuits from both the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over allegations of fraudulent activities and insincerity about government customer protection.
CFTC Commissioner Slams Voyager Digital for Customer Fund Losses
The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has accused Voyager Digital of misleading practices and "bare-bones due diligence" that led to the loss of billions of dollars of customer funds. CFTC Commissioner Kristin Johnson criticized Voyager for ignoring warning signs and failing to protect customers, stating that "the company became no better than a house of cards."
FTC Reaches Settlement With Voyager, Permanently Banning It From Handling Consumer Assets
According to an official announcement, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced that it has reached a settlement with bankrupt cryptocurrency lending company Voyager Digital, permanently banning it from handling consumer assets. The FTC stated that Voyager and its former CEO Stephen Ehrlich misled consumers, resulting in consumers losing over $1 billion in cryptocurrency after the company collapsed.
U.S. CFTC sues former Voyager Digital CEO for large-scale commodity pool fraud scheme
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced that it has filed a lawsuit against Tennessee resident Stephen Ehrlich, the former CEO of now-bankrupt entity Voyager Digital, in the U.S. Southern District Court of New York. The complaint alleges that Ehrlich engaged in fraud and registration failures in the operation of the Voyager digital asset platform and Voyager's unregistered commodity pool. Ehrlich and Voyager falsely touted the Voyager platform as a "safe haven" to earn high returns and induce customers to buy and store digital asset commodities. In its ongoing litigation against Ehrlich, the CFTC seeks restitution, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, civil monetary penalties, permanent trading and registration bans, as well as permanent injunctions against further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations.
CFTC votes to prosecute Voyager, accusing him of violating derivatives regulations
Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett wrote on X platform that the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) voted to sue Voyager co-founder Stephen Ehrlich, accusing him of violating derivative regulatory rules and misleading customers about the security of their assets.
Decentralized Options Platform Opyn Has Restricted Its Use to Users in the United States
On September 9th, according to information displayed on the official website of decentralized options platform Opyn, Opyn has restricted the use of US users. September 8th, the US CFTC announced recent law enforcement actions in the DeFi field, accusing Opyn, Inc., ZeroEx, Inc., and Deridex, Inc. of violating the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations, including failure to register as a swap execution facility (SEF) or designated contract market (DCM), failure to register as a futures commission merchant (FCM), and failure to adopt a customer identification program, among others.
