Bankman-Fried wants Congress to expand the CFTC’s authority to cover trading in the coins themselves. Currently, the CFTC only claims jurisdiction over cash token markets in cases of suspected fraud or manipulation that could affect the performance of crypto derivatives. In February testimony to the Senate, he said this lack of clarity is bad for investors and the industry. Other trading platforms are also starting to see the merits of being overseen primarily by the CFTC, say industry leaders who asked not to be named talking about private discussions.
All this is happening as another regulator, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, is flexing its muscles in crypto, and some industry watchers say it’s no coincidence: Expanding the CFTC’s role could put some digital assets beyond the SEC’s reach. “The exchanges are coming to a conclusion that the last thing they want is to be regulated by the SEC,” says Patrick McCarty, who teaches a class on crypto at Georgetown University’s law school.
Source: Cryptocurrency Exchange Platforms Want Say in Rules Under Biden Administration – Bloomberg
