US House of Representatives proposed to appoint the CFTC as crypto regulator

Legislators believe that cryptocurrencies, which are not securities, should be classified as digital commodities

29.04.2022 - 16:15

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What’s new? A bipartisan group of legislators in Washington has introduced an updated bill to regulate developers, dealers, and exchanges working with cryptocurrency and stablecoins, bringing them under the control of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). “The Digital Commodity Exchange Act of 2022” (DCEA) was reintroduced in Congress by Republican representatives Glenn Thompson and Tom Emmer, supported by Democratic co-sponsors Darren Soto and Ro Khanna.

The updated bill

What is the essence of the bill? The DCEA will authorize the CFTC to register and regulate exchanges that offer spot trading in cryptocurrencies. The same rules will apply to the listing of digital assets on cryptocurrency exchanges as they do to providers of other commodities.

Cryptocurrency developers will be able to register with the CFTC and provide the information needed for public trading and listing on the exchange. A summary of the law states that registration will ensure the accuracy of records and standardization of public information about cryptocurrency and may facilitate listing on the exchange.

The DCEA will not affect the authority of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to regulate the offering of digital securities. Instead, the law classifies cryptocurrencies, which are not securities, as digital commodities subject to regulation by the CFTC.

What happened before? In February, SEC chairman Gary Gensler stated that the securities regulator was working with the CFTC on crypto regulation. He said that the SEC was establishing contact with exchanges, crypto, and lending platforms to ensure investors were protected.

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