Behnam said this is an age-old issue between the two agencies, referring to a Senate bill that seeks to give the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) control over a large portion of the crypto market, leaving the CFTC with far less control.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair, Rostin Behnam, stated that Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) are commodities. On Monday, he said this in an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box.
According to Behnam, the CFTC and the SEC have a great relationship and continue to communicate and collaborate. He also stated that both entities share a large number of registrants.
However, Behnam believes that the CFTC should regulate commodities and the SEC should regulate securities.
He also mentioned that the world of digital assets, which includes thousands of tokens, naturally includes some commodities and securities. To that end, the CFTC Chair stated that it is reasonable to examine both asset types to determine which tokens qualify as securities or commodities.
Behnam acknowledged that separating securities from commodities in the crypto market will be difficult.
According to him, the novelty of some coins and the technology they use would necessitate a review of what constitutes a security or commodity under traditional securities and commodities laws.
Many cryptocurrencies are commodities
Although Behnam acknowledged the existence of hundreds, if not thousands, of security coins, he contended that commodity coins also account for a significant portion of tokens in the crypto market. He stated that both regulators are only trying to do their best.
Behnam agreed with SEC Chair Gary Gensler that the crypto market lacks consumer protections. He emphasized the importance of such safeguards in light of last week’s crash.
Finally, Behnam stated: – Regardless of what the narrative might be about the differences between us (CFTC) and the SEC, I think we are both like-minded in the fact that we want to regulate this thoughtfully, protect customers, protect financial stability. This comes after the SEC announced plans to expand its cryptocurrency team in order to improve consumer protections. The regulators specifically stated that it hoped to increase the number of employees in its Crypto Assets and Cyber team of its Enforcement Division from 30 to 50.
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