Menu

Search

  |   Digital Currency

Menu

  |   Digital Currency

Search

US Congressional Committee urges CFTC to provide clarity on bitcoin regulation

The Agriculture Committee of the US House of Representatives has sent a letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recommending it to provide clarity on digital currency regulation in the wake of Donald Trump being elected as the next President of the United States of America.

In the letter, dated November 18, K. Michael Conaway, Chairman of the Congressional Committee said:

“Last week, the American people chose a new direction for our country. In the light of that, I am writing to follow up on the Republican Conference’s recent letter on “midnight rulemaking” and to expand on our request that you refrain from pushing through controversial regulations at the end of your tenure as Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).”

Conaway urged the CFTC to delay the work on “controversial rulemakings”, adding that it could instead finalize non-controversial rules and orders and focus on market surveillance, enforcement activities, and other day-to-day work of the agency.

Speaking of digital currencies such as bitcoin, Conaway said that the CFTC should provide clarity on their regulation, which will not only strengthen this new technology but also protect consumers from this emerging market.

“Among the many housekeeping actions the Commission could undertake would be to provide additional clarity about the regulation of digital currencies. Providing the public with more certainty will help strengthen this new technology and protect the participants of these emerging markets”, he wrote.

In a ruling last September, the CFTC formally declared that bitcoin and other virtual currencies are defined as commodities.

“While there is a lot of excitement surrounding Bitcoin and other virtual currencies, innovation does not excuse those acting in this space from following the same rules applicable to all participants in the commodity derivatives markets”, Aitan Goelman, the CFTC’s Director of Enforcement, said at the time.

In addition, the CFTC has also been taking interest in bitcoin’s underlying blockchain technology. In January, it held a public meeting which discussed the potential applications of blockchain technology in derivative markets. In April, CFTC Commissioner J. Christopher said that blockchain is an emerging technology that may have enormous implications for the capital and hedging markets overseen by the CFTC and other regulators.

  • Market Data
Close

Welcome to EconoTimes

Sign up for daily updates for the most important
stories unfolding in the global economy.