Rostin Behnam, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), said Thursday that the crypto industry has “a massive opportunity for institutional inflows that will only occur if there is a regulatory structure,” urging his office to lead the effort.
Bitcoin might “double in price” if it traded in a CFTC-regulated market, Behnam told attendees during a fireside chat at NYU School of Law. He stressed that the SEC and CFTC are working together to regulate the crypto space, emphasizing that “It’s not a turf war.”
According to the chairman, the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) “have to rely on 70-year-old case law to determine what’s a security or a commodity.” For years, the CFTC and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have fought over who should be the top regulator for the crypto industry, with both unwilling to issue much formal guidance for crypto companies.
The remarks come as the crypto industry faces increased scrutiny around the world, from Brazil to Australia.
According to Behnam, the wave of regulation heading for crypto might not be a bad thing:
“Non-bank [crypto] institutions thrive on regulation, they thrive on regulatory certainty, they thrive on a level playing field,” Behnam added. “And they may say otherwise, they might bicker about the type of regulation – but what they love most is regulation because they are the smartest, the fastest and the most well-resourced. With those attributes, they can beat everyone else in the market.”
Due to a lack of funding to conduct its own investigations, he pointed out that the CFTC has relied on tips, complaints from customers, and whistleblowers in the majority of the cases it has pursued.
The chairman also stated his support for a Senate Agriculture Committee bill that would make the CFTC the primary regulator of the cryptocurrency industry. It contains a clause permitting the cash-strapped agency to charge regulated entities fees.
