US Senate confirms CFTC chair as President Biden announces commissioner picks

Dec 17, 2021

[ad_1]

Congressional lawmakers confirmed the nomination of Rostin Behnam, a commissioner on the Commodity Futures Buying and selling Fee who had been serving as performing chairperson, to imagine his place on a extra everlasting foundation.

In a Wednesday night voice vote, members of the U.S. Senate permitted President Joe Biden’s decide to guide the CFTC. Behnam has served as a commissioner since 2017 and performing chair following the departure of Heath Tarbert in January.

At his affirmation listening to earlier than the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Vitamin, and Forestry in October, Behnam requested lawmakers contemplate increasing the authority of the CFTC, given the rising digital asset market. He stated that the CFTC had been “aggressively pursuing enforcement instances” within the crypto house, likening its strategy to law enforcement officials doing their obligation.

“Given the dimensions, the scope and the dimensions of this rising market, the way it’s interfacing and affecting retail prospects, and with the dimensions of the expansion being so fast, potential monetary stability dangers sooner or later, I feel it’s critically essential to have a main cop on the beat,” stated Behnam on the time.

Associated: SEC has no authority over crypto, CFTC commissioner argues

The affirmation got here the identical day President Biden introduced his picks for 2 further commissioners on the CFTC. A Wednesday discover from the White Home exhibits he plans

There are at the moment solely two commissioners at the moment serving on the CFTC out of the traditional 5, and with the anticipated departure of Stump in February 2022, Biden could have the chance to utterly reshape the Fee with 4 open positions. In December, the U.S. President introduced he deliberate to appoint Emory College regulation professor Kristin Johnson and Christy Goldsmith Romero, a former senior counsel within the Securities and Trade Fee’s Enforcement Division.

Associated: CFTC commissioner: Company doesn’t have enforcement assets with out Congress

Such a big change to the CFTC management may simply have an effect on regulation and enforcement of the crypto house. Presently, the Securities and Trade Fee, CFTC and Monetary Crimes Enforcement Community deal with digital asset regulation within the nation, however with totally different jurisdictional claims, leading to a patchwork strategy firms should navigate to legally function. Throughout Benham’s time as performing chair, the Commissions has slapped Tether and Bitfinex with a $42.5 million superb and reached a settlement with crypto change BitMEX to pay a $100 million civil financial penalty.