CFTC Market Risk Advisory Committee Meets Next Week. Will the Committee Discuss Cryptocurrencies?

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has scheduled a meeting of the Market Risk Advisory Committee (MRAC) for January 31st. The meeting, which is open to the public, will be held at the CFTC HQ in Washington, DC.

If you are interested you can dial in on a listen only conference line or livestream the event on the CFTC site. A more important question may be, will the MRAC discuss digital currencies including Bitcoin.

Today, the agenda was published and while there was no mention of Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies or Blockchain there is a portion of the meeting that is opaquely names “Policy & Regulatory Approach for Novel Products: A discussion of the regulatory, legal and policy issues related to listing novel products.”

And what is the most recent “novel” financial product? Bitcoin and other virtual currencies.

Commissioner Rostin Behnam, the CFTC sponsor of MRAC, stated;

“With the rapid development of financial technology products – including cryptocurrencies – and the corresponding demand for new and novel price discovery and risk management tools, the CFTC is poised to utilize its authority and expertise to ensure that the markets we oversee innovate responsibly within an appropriate oversight framework. I believe this is a perfect time for the MRAC to discuss the application of the CFTC’s self-certification process in today’s quickly evolving, technology driven marketplace.”

The panel set to discuss these “novel products” includes Albert Kyle, a professor of Finance at the University of Maryland, Karl Larsen, of Reed Smith, and Edward Pia, from UBS and the Futures Industry Association.

Kyle, recently published an article as to Why Bitcoin is Still Rising?

Before joining  Reed Smith, Larsen was General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at LedgerX, an institutional trading and clearing platform that is the first federally regulated Bitcoin options exchange and clearing house. And finally, the Futures Industry Association posted a letter last month stating their concern of Bitcoin futures.

This should be an interesting meeting for the digital currency industry. Information on how to view/listen to the CFTC Meeting is posted below.

Viewing/Listening Instructions: Watch the live webcast at www.cftc.gov. To listen to the live audio feed, call the toll or toll-free numbers under Related Links. Call-in participants should be prepared to provide their first name, last name and affiliation.

Conference call information:

Domestic Toll Free: 1-866-844-9416
International Toll Numbers: International Numbers
Conference Passcode: 1834106

 


 



Sponsored Links by DQ Promote

 

 

Send this to a friend