The chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said he believes bitcoin and ether are commodities. He spoke about how his agency is working with the SEC to regulate the crypto sector, noting that “there are no customer protections in the crypto market right now.”
Bitcoin and Ether are “definitely” commodities
CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam discussed regulation of cryptocurrencies by the CFTC and SEC in an interview with CNBC last week.
The Chairman was asked to comment on legislation passed in Congress that would make the SEC responsible for securities tokens and the CFTC responsible for commodity tokens.
“This is a bit of an old issue between the CFTC and the SEC. We’ve historically had a great relationship … In this space, I think it makes sense that commodities are regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and securities are regulated by the SEC,” Behnam clarified.
The CFTC chief noted that in the cryptocurrency space, there are coins that are securities and there are coins that are commodities.
When asked to comment on SEC Chairman Gary Gensler’s statement that most cryptocurrencies are securities, Behnam emphasized that the largest cryptocurrencies are commodities. He emphasized.
Well, I can definitely say that Bitcoin …… is a commodity. The same is true of Ether.
Recognizing that there can be many security coins, the CFTC commissioner noted that “there are many community coins.” He clarified.”
The CFTC Chairman was asked if there is disagreement between the two agencies, “I think it makes sense for each agency to have jurisdiction over commodities and securities, respectively. I wouldn’t say there’s disagreement,” he replied, stressing that each agency is trying to do its best.
Commenting on last week’s cryptocurrency market sell-off, Behnam said.
A lot of people got hurt. A lot of value was lost in the market, and there’s really no customer protection now.
He concluded that both the CFTC and SEC want to regulate the crypto sector “thoughtfully” to protect customers and ensure financial stability.
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