Biden’s election for the CFTC presidency wants the agency to be a “beat cop”

As acting chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Rostin Behnam compared the government agency’s enforcement of the digital asset space to a police officer on duty.

At the hearing of the US Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Forestry on October 27 to accept his position on a permanent basis, Behnam told chairman Debbie Stabenow that the CFTC had been “actively active” for a period of time, granting executions “in crypto space follow . , including the $ 100 million litigation against the BitMEX crypto derivatives exchange and the $ 42.5 million fines levied on Tether and Bitfinex. However, he urged the committee to consider extending the CFTC’s jurisdiction to the emerging digital asset market.

“That’s the tip of the iceberg,” says Behnam. “As of yesterday, the total size of the digital asset market is $ 2.7 trillion. Of that $ 2.7 trillion, nearly 60% is goods […] Given the size, scope and size of this emerging market, the way it communicates with and affects retail clients, and given the scale of its rapid growth, potential future risks to financial stability, I believe it is of paramount importance to have the most important cop on the line. ”

Behnam also responded to a question from Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown about whether the CFTC would need “additional tools” for enforcement in the crypto space, saying the agency, as well as the commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission likely need “a regulator.” become structure for both securities and commodities. Both groups outside of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network are currently dealing with digital asset regulations in the US, but with different legal claims, creating a patchwork approach that companies must navigate in order to operate legally.

“The market and the market transactions that are taking place are a huge part of the risk that digital assets pose,” added Behnam.

Related: CFTC Commissioner Says Full Enforcement Authority For Crypto Derivatives

There are currently only two commissioners of five regular commissioners with the CFTC since Dan Berkovitz left earlier this month, Brian Quintenz in August and former chairman Heath Tarbert in January. Behnam – who served as the agency’s chairman after Tarbert left – was President Joe Biden’s election to head the CFTC. In addition, Biden chose Kristin Johnson and Christy Goldsmith Romero to fill two of the remaining three seats. All must be approved by the democratically controlled Senate.