The US may tighten control over cryptocurrencies

The representative of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Rostin Behnam, urged the US Senate to pass a law that would expand the Commission’s authority over the cryptocurrency market. The official shared his thoughts at a hearing of the US Senate Committee on Nutrition, Agriculture, and Forestry. The main task on the agenda was to consider the Digital Commodity Consumer Protection Act (DCCPA), which should give the CFTC the authority to regulate the spot market for digital assets. According to Behnam, a large number of existing digital assets are commodities, and since the CFTC has considerable experience and knowledge, this will allow it to regulate the commodity market for such assets. The commission chairman said that he is committed to protecting consumers through the availability of information and transparency of the regulatory process.

«We believe that participants in the digital commodity assets market are not able to provide us with all the necessary information. Therefore, the CFTC’s enforcement program should rely on consumer reports and complaints. This way,we can better detect fraud and manipulation in the market,» Behnam said.

According to the CFTC representative, the tools available to the Commission now are too limited. If the Digital Consumer Protection Act is passed, it will significantly expand the regulator’s powers. The official emphasized that the adoption of the law will also provide the CFTC with additional funding, which will improve the collection of statistics and speed up the process of informing investors about the state of affairs.

As a reminder, in mid-August, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved a new reporting requirement for cryptocurrency platforms. From now on, the CFTC and the SEC will control the activities of cryptocurrency companies in a similar way, obliging hedge funds with more than $ 500 million in assets under management to report on the risks associated with digital assets. It seems that the agencies have even forgotten their previous quarrels — all in order to gain as much power as possible over the control of cryptocurrency platforms.

Earlier, Gary Gensler, the chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (who is being actively sought to be fired by crypto investors), proposed to make more efforts to control the trade in digital assets and to combine the efforts of the SEC and CFTC. However, according to insider information, the agencies quarreled over the mandate to supervise crypto companies.

Thus, the CFTC reported that brokers, custodians, dealers, and businesses that trade in digital assets are required to register with the CFTC — otherwise, they face punishment. And the SEC is planning to check the activities of every cryptocurrency exchange operating in America.