Here, the SEC is sharpening its knife against Coinbase, and the House of Representatives Agriculture Committee also held a themed hearing on "Providing Clarity for the Spot Market of Digital Assets". The chairman of CFTC attended the meeting and announced itstestimony, so in this meeting, what are the key points worth paying attention to?
content source fromProtos, compiled by Odaily.
Participate in hearing members
In addition to Rostin Behnam, the current chairman of the CFTC, the following individuals also participated in the hearing:
Christopher Giancarlo: Former CFTC Chairman
Dan Gallagher: Chief Legal Compliance Officer, Robinhood
Dan Berkovitz: Former CFTC Commissioner
Walt Lucken: Former CFTC Acting Chairman
Hearing begins
Chairman Thompson (Pennsylvania, R) referred to the lawsuit filed against Coinbase today and saidThis model of law enforcement and supervision is not a good model。
Commissioner Scott (Georgia, D) believes thatCFTC Needs More Resources to Adequately Address Issues, and further said the Thompson-McHenry proposal failed to do so.
Rostin Behnam (Current Chairman of CFTC)
His speech focused on expanding the regulation of the digital currency spot market, and further discussed one of the reasons why LedgerX did not enter bankruptcy proceedings with FTX-because LedgerXStrict compliance with regulatory requirements。
Chairman Thompson asked why the regulatory gap in the physical commodity market "is a problem," while Behnam believes that the main source of the problem is retail investors, not just traditional institutions.
Behnam said he believedBoth BTC and ETH are Commodities, they represent 60% of the cryptocurrency market, and expanding CFTC oversight of them would help protect retail investors.
Thompson asked if the CFTC couldreasonably extend their responsibilities, Behnam said they had done this once before (referring to the swaps market after the financial crisis) and could "expand again" to manage this nascent space.
Commissioner Scott asked a "hypothetical" question of requiring the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to oversee these areas without additional funding. And Behnam reiterated that providing resources is "absolutely necessary"of.
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Rep. Scott (Georgia, Republican) asked what it would mean if the CFTC were asked to regulate more than 20,000 cryptocurrencies, and Behnam replied that they wouldTakes 3 years and costs a total of $120 million to develop rules, while the current budget is $365 million per year, and Behnam explained: "Of those 20,000 tokens you mentioned, the vast majority are not actually trading, and ... a lot of tokens will Disappears over time."
Rep. McGovern (Mass., D) asked about lessons learned from FTX, and Behnam again cited the example of LedgerX (Strict compliance with regulatory requirements）。
Representative Crawford (Arkansas, R-P) pointed to three vape stores in his town where people can buy cryptocurrency, a feature he called “problematic” and argued thatRegular clerks in vape shops shouldn't be able to sell cryptocurrencies。
Representative Brown (Ohio, D) believes thatAgriculture Committee Should Fewer Hearings on Digital Assets and More on Agriculture and Food Safety。
“Cuts to our budget mean less money into the treasury。”
The difficulty of determining the exact dividing line between securities regulation and commodity regulation highlights that even though the SEC regulates securities, there are still regulatory gaps for things that are more clearly commodities, such as BTC.
"Customer funds are sacrosanct"
Express support for the Crypto industryself-regulatory organization(eg JVCEA in Japan).
Re-emphasizing how the CFTC’s regulation of LedgerX works. (Protect customer funds, maintain company value, and achieve good results)
Many delegates were curious about the difference between securities and commodities(A large part of this hearing was focused on figuring out,as well as,as well asIs it possible to change between the two）
Again, the CFTC can currently only act in the spot market when people come to them with specific issues.
Talked about the bull market period is the time to establish (comprehensive and feasible regulatory framework).
Representative Rose (Tennessee, Republican) asked whether ETH was a commodity or a security, and Behnam reiterated a point he has made several times during this hearing that he believes “ETH is a commodity”。
To CFTCandandspot digital currencySimilarities between regulations are compared.
Representative De La Cruz (D-Texas, Republican) stated that some people think that all digital assets should be regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), but he immediately corrected this statement, claiming that "everybody thinks that Bitcoin is a commodity".
According to Behnam, assets canFrom Securities to Commodities。
J. Christopher Giancarlo (Former CFTC Chairman)
He suggested that the CFTC introduced a lot of innovation by regulating the bitcoin futures market. It is hoped that Congress can clarify the regulatory and supervisory responsibilities of the digital asset market. He said"Cryptocurrencies are not going away, hoping that Congress will accept "innovation today”。
Paul Grewal (Chief Legal Officer, Coinbase)
Indicates that Coinbase has"Regulated" and wants to settle legal action, but it’s disappointing that “the SEC has chosen to bring legal action against Coinbase on the day they will speak before Congress.”
"America is falling behind" and "pushing innovators overseas". “Cryptocurrencies are solving real-world problems ... making the financial system better.” He believes that “…the draft is” an important step in the right direction.
Dan Gallagher (Robinhood chief legal officer, former SEC commissioner).
Talking about "democratizing" the market, "Innovation is at the heart of Robinhood.", emphasizing that Robinhood needs "tailored, accountable regulation," and "Lack of Regulatory Transparency at the Federal Level”。
After that, they basically advertised Robinhood.
