CFTC Chairman: Many Crypto Tokens Are Considered Commodities Under Existing Laws

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The chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Rostin Behnam, has stated that many digital assets are considered commodities under existing law. Behnam urged the U.S. Congress to hasten the process of establishing a regulatory regime for cryptocurrency. He also emphasized that he and Gary Gensler, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chairperson, “get along quite well.”

Gap in Regulation

Rostin Behnam, the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), has stated that many digital assets or tokens are considered commodities under existing law. However, Behnam lamented the emergence of a gap in regulation and urged the U.S. Congress to step in.

"It is figuring out how existing, decades-old law, fits into this new technology that seems to be changing and ultimately needs a new way of thinking around policy and legislating," says @CFTCbehnam on #crypto. "Under existing law, many of the tokens constitute commodities." pic.twitter.com/F3JPjWq3wG

— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) December 12, 2023

Unsurprisingly, the CFTC chairman’s view on crypto is seemingly at odds with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman Gary Gensler, who sees many altcoins, including XRP and ether (ETH), as securities. Besides insisting that most digital assets are securities, the SEC under Gensler’s stewardship is also accused of deliberately obfuscating crypto regulations.

U.S. Congress Urged to ‘Legitimize the Technology’

Consequently, some U.S. politicians, like Tom Emmer (R-MN), have called for Gensler’s removal and sought to restrict the SEC’s ability to carry out enforcement actions. They have also called for the speedy enactment of laws to regulate crypto.

When asked about the limited movement towards establishing a regulatory regime for digital assets, Behnam, who spoke on CNBC’s Squawk Box, acknowledged that progress has been slow. He declared that the U.S. Congress must move away from its stance of not wanting to legitimize the technology.

“Congress is gonna have to step in and overcome this feeling of not wanting to legitimize the technology and seeing this as not something that is tenable or sustainable. I mean it is here, it hasn’t gone away,” Behnam said.

Behnam also addressed the alleged turf war between the SEC and CFTC, stating that he and Gensler “get along quite well” and share similar values and interests, particularly when it comes to protecting markets. The CFTC chairman suggested that both organizations need to find a way to make the “decades-old law fit into this new technology.”

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