CFTC Chairman Confirms Bitcoin, Ether Are Commodities
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 Are Commodities ‘For Sure’ CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam discussed the regulation of cryptocurrencies by the CFTC and the SEC in an interview with CNBC last week. The chairman was asked to comment....
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“Most cryptocurrencies go to the SEC [...] Bitcoin and Ether would be certainly commodities, and that's agreed upon,” said the U.S. Senator from New York Kirsten Gillibrand. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Cyntia Lummis believe that most altcoins would likely be considered securities under their proposed new legislation — but confirmed that Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) will be classified as commodities. Lummis and Gillibrand both agreed with Securities and Exchange Commision Chair Gary Gensler’s assessment that most cryptocurrencies are securities under the Howey test with Gillibrand....
CFTC Chairman Heath Tarbert intends to leave the role early in 2021, opening the door for President-elect Joe Biden to name a new top commodities regulator.
Former CFTC chairman Christopher Giancarlo argued that the CFTC is the only U.S. regulatory agency that has experience regulating markets for Bitcoin and crypto. Amid the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) expanding the scope of oversight of the cryptocurrency industry, a commissioner with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) argued that crypto regulation doesn’t fall under the SEC’s jurisdiction.CFTC commissioner Brian Quintenz took to Twitter on Wednesday to declare that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) should be regulated by the CFTC rather than the....
Over the course of his 18-month term, Tarbert has been a consistent advocate for principles-based regulation of crypto. In a Dec. 10 public statement, Chairman Heath Tarbert announced that he will be leaving the Commodity Futures Trading Commission early next year. In listing accomplishments over the course of his term, Tarbert included that: "we have promoted responsible fintech innovation and declared Ether a commodity."This tracks with Tarbert's broader interest in the crypto markets and earlier statements affirming that Bitcoin and Ether should not face regulation as....
Jared Marx is an attorney at the Washington, DC law firm of Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis. He advises companies about bitcoin-related regulatory law, and represents companies and individuals in civil and criminal proceedings. Mark Wetjen, a commissioner at the US Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), has made it known loud and clear recently that bitcoin fits the legal definition of a commodity and that the CFTC has authority to regulate the digital currency. So what would the CFTC's regulation of bitcoin actually look like? For the average bitcoin user and business, probably not....