Digital Currency Derivatives Exchanges Prepare for Regulation after CFTC Bitcoin Ruling

US financial regulators are considering the regulation of Bitcoin. Bart Chilton of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) told the Financial Times and Reuters that the organisation is 'seriously considering' regulation and 'if they wanted to', they could regulate it. Bitcoin is not a derivative and the CFTC only has a remit to regulate derivatives. But the US Treasury Department has already said that Bitcoin exchanges would come under existing regulations that prevent money laundering. While outcome of US regulation plans around bitcoin is still unclear, the fact that regulators....

"A trading platform that offers derivatives on digital assets to U.S. persons without registering, or in violation of CFTC trading rules, is subject to the CFTC’s enforcement authority," said Dawn Stump. Dawn Stump, one of four commissioners currently serving at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, has released a statement clarifying the agency's authority with respect to digital assets. In a Monday statement, Stump said the CFTC is empowered with both regulatory and enforcement authority for commodities. She did not specifically say that digital assets were cash-like....

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has issued its first action against an unregistered bitcoin options trading platform, ordering the startup to cease operations and simultaneously settling the case. The CFTC charged San Francisco-based startup Coinflip Inc, which does business under the name Derivabit, and CEO Francisco Riordan with conducting activity related to commodity options, without registering with the agency or meeting rules for exemption. With the ruling, the CFTC has also confirmed that bitcoin and other digital currencies are commodities covered by the....

Jared Marx is an attorney at Washington, DC law firm Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis. He advises companies about bitcoin-related regulatory law and represents companies and individuals in civil and criminal proceedings. Here, he discusses a recent ruling by the United States Commodities Futures Trading Commission, which saw it label bitcoin as a commodity. Last Thursday the United States Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) settled charges against a small and now-defunct operation in San Francisco called Coinflip, which marketed bitcoin derivatives. In the process, the CFTC asserted....

The chairman of the US derivatives regulator has told a senate committee that digital currency derivatives fall within his agency's remit. Timothy Massad, who chairs the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), testified before the US Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry yesterday, noting that while his agency does not have specific rules governing digital currencies, it would oversee futures and swaps in any commodity. This includes digital currencies, he said. He added: "While the CFTC does not have policies and procedures specific to virtual currencies like....