House and Senate Agriculture Committees Issue Bipartisan Call for CFTC Guidance on Crypto

A radical of bipartisan lawmakers tasked with overseeing the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) person asked recently confirmed Chairman Rostin Behnam to supply guidance connected cryptocurrencies and the agency’s relation successful regulating them.

In a letter Tuesday, the lawmakers asked Behnam to reply a bid of questions astir the size and scope of crypto markets, crypto transgression and however it differs from transgression successful accepted fiscal markets, and the CFTC’s authorization to “protect customers and guarantee marketplace integrity.”

The leaders of the U.S. Senate Committee connected Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and the U.S. House Committee connected Agriculture – Chairwoman Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Ranking Member Sen. John Boozman (R-Arkansas), Chairman Rep. David Scott (D-Georgia) and Ranking Member Rep. GT Thompson (R-Penn.) – each signed the letter. .

The missive follows Behnam’s connection during his information proceeding earlier the Senate Ag Committee past October that the CFTC’s enforcement actions against crypto criminals was conscionable the “tip of the iceberg,” and his proposition astatine the clip to grow the CFTC's authorization and marque it the “primary bull connected the beat” for crypto.

It besides represents the latest volley successful an ongoing tug-of-war betwixt the CFTC and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) implicit which bureau volition go the top-dog crypto regulator.

Much of that statement has considered whether cryptocurrencies are securities oregon commodities. In their letter, the lawmakers wrote that “the 2 largest integer assets by marketplace capitalization, bitcoin and ether, are commodities. SEC Chair Gary Gensler has agreed that bitcoin is simply a commodity, though helium has kept mum astir his presumption connected ether.

Matthew Kluchenek, a spouse astatine Chicago-based instrumentality steadfast Mayer Brown whose signifier focuses connected CFTC enforcement actions, told CoinDesk the missive is apt a awesome that the committees are acceptable for the CFTC to bash thing astir crypto.

Kluchenek noted that the missive specifically addresses the emergence successful decentralized concern (DeFi), which has precocious drawn the CFTC’s attention.

“What I'm sensing from the committee's missive is that they are importuning, if you will, the CFTC, to instrumentality a person look astatine the DeFi sector,” Kluchenek told CoinDesk. “And, portion and parcel with that, to amended better the Committee connected that and related issues.”

Kluchenek said that helium doesn’t spot the missive arsenic a motion of impending efforts by lawmakers to grow the CFTC’s authorization implicit crypto, but wouldn’t discount it successful the future.

“I would accidental it's wrong play. And definite folks mightiness beryllium reasoning astir that,” Kluchenek said.

He added: “The Senate Ag committee has a batch of authority. And if they consciousness arsenic though the CFTC needs to modulate something, and it doesn't person capable power, that's the committee that tin marque immoderate things happen.”