Bitcoin
CFTC Chairman Reiterates to US Senate That Bitcoin and Ethereum Are Commodities
CFTC Chairman Reiterates to US Senate That Bitcoin and Ethereum Are Commodities
The head of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Rostin Behnam, has once again advocated for his agency to oversee Bitcoin and Ethereum, the two largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, by classifying them as commodities. Speaking before a US Senate committee on July 9, Behnam referenced a recent Illinois court ruling that reinforces this classification.
The court’s July 3 ruling was part of a $120 million Ponzi scheme case involving an Oregon man accused of fraud. The Illinois district court judge ruled that both Bitcoin and Ethereum qualify as commodities under the Commodity Exchange Act. The ruling also extended that classification to Olympus (OHM) and KlimaDAO (KLIMA).
Behnam also cited a 2022 report from the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) that highlighted a regulatory gap in the spot market for non-securities digital assets, suggesting that the CFTC should play a more significant role in overseeing digital commodities.
Behnam stressed that inaction by other U.S. regulators would not diminish public interest in digital assets and could potentially increase risks for financial markets and investors. “In short, our current trajectory is not sustainable. Federal legislation is urgently needed to create a path to a regulatory framework that will protect American investors and potentially the financial system from future risks,” he said.
The CFTC Chairman outlined five key legislative priorities that he believes his agency could implement to better regulate digital commodities. These priorities include crafting rules tailored to the unique risk profile of cryptocurrencies, establishing a permanent “fee-for-service” funding model, requiring comprehensive disclosure from registrants about their crypto assets, and enhancing the CFTC’s Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) capabilities.