Biden Is Supposedly Choosing a New CFTC Chair to Oversee the Cryptocurrency Market.
President Joe Biden will nominate Rostin Behnam head of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission, according to a Bloomberg story. Since Heath Tarbert’s January resignation, the leading derivatives regulator has been without a leader. Behnam was named interim head of the CFTC in January, but he has yet to be nominated to the Senate, much alone approved.
According to a Bloomberg story, his nomination is likely to be made public in the coming weeks. According to U.Today, BitMEX, one of the largest bitcoin derivatives exchanges, has agreed to pay a $100 million fine to resolve CFTC and FinCEN allegations. Behnam emphasized the necessity of sticking to “cultural compliance” in his statement:
This case reinforces the expectation that the digital assets industry, as it continues to touch a broader pool of market participants, takes seriously its responsibilities in the regulated financial industry and its duties to develop and adhere to a culture of compliance.
The CFTC also fined Coinbase, the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, $6.5 million in March for false reporting, although the case predates Behnam’s tenure. Behnam argued in March that the federal government should have a role in regulating the cryptocurrency market, which continues to attract significant retail investor interest.
Meanwhile, rumors indicate that a turf war between the CFTC and the US Securities and Exchange Commission over cryptocurrency regulation is developing.
Also Read: Miguel Pesce Hints At Regulation Of Bitcoin In Payment Systems
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