According to the chairman of U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission CFTC (USCCT), bitcoin and ether can be considered commodities. He outlined how his agency is working with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to regulate the crypto sector, noting that “there are no customer protections right now in the crypto market.”
Bitcoin and Ether Are Commodities ‘For Sure’
Rostin Behnam, Chairman of the CFTC discussed regulation of cryptocurrencies through the CFTC as well as the SEC during an interview with CNBC.
When asked by the chairman to respond on a proposed bill that would have the SEC responsible for security tokens, and the CFTC responsible for commodity tokens, the Chairman agreed.
“This is a little bit of an age-old issue between the CFTC and the SEC. We have a great relationship historically … Within this space, in my view, it makes sense for commodities to be regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and securities to be regulated by the SEC,” Behnam detailed.
The CFTC chief noted that there would be both commodities and securities coins in the crypto market.
When asked to comment on SEC Chairman Gary Gensler’s claim that most of the crypto tokens out there are securities, Behnam stressed that the largest cryptocurrencies are commodities. He emphasized:
Well, I can say for sure bitcoin … is a commodity. Ether, too.
Admitting that there may be a lot of security coins, the CFTC chief noted, “there are plenty of community coins.” He clarified: “I think it makes sense that each agency has jurisdiction over commodities and securities respectively.”
When asked if there was any conflict between the agencies, the chairman of CFTC answered that they did not have disagreements. “I wouldn’t say there is disagreement,” he replied, emphasizing that each agency tries to do what’s best.
Behnam stated:
There were many people who got hurt. Market value lost a lot, and customers don’t have any protections.
He concluded that both the CFTC and the SEC want to regulate the crypto sector “thoughtfully,” protect customers, and protect financial stability.
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