News
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 U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Rostin Behnam, has again argued that his agency should oversee Bitcoin and Ethereum, the two largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, by classifying them as commodities. Speaking before a U.S. Senate committee on July 9, Behnam referenced a recent Illinois court ruling that reinforces this classification.
The July 3 court ruling was part of a $120 million Ponzi scheme case involving an Oregon man accused of fraud. The Illinois District Court judge declared that both Bitcoin and Ethereum are considered 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 a lack of action 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 for a regulatory framework that protects American investors and possibly 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. Those priorities include creating rules tailored to the unique risk profile of cryptocurrencies, establishing a permanent “fee-based” funding model, requiring registrants to fully disclose their crypto assets, and enhancing the CFTC’s Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) capabilities.