June 10, 2018 @ 6:31 pm By Cali Haan  |  

As part of a probe examining possible manipulation in Bitcoin markets, the regulator responsible for overseeing futures and commodity trading in the US has subpoenaed four American cryptocurrency exchanges to produce volumes of trade data, WSJ reported Friday June 8th. Top cryptocurrencies have since turned red as this… Read More

June 5, 2018 @ 5:57 pm By JD Alois  |  

U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair J. Christopher Giancarlo testified before a Senate subcommittee today to review the Fiscal Year 2019 funding requests and budget justifications for the CFTC, alongside U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Jay Clayton. Giancarlo requested a “modest increase” in… Read More

June 4, 2018 @ 4:52 pm By JD Alois  |  

CFTC Chair J. Christopher Giancarlo and SEC Chair Jay Clayton will be visiting Capitol Hill together once again to testify before a Senate Subcommittee. This time, Clayton and Giancarlo will be testifying before the Senate Committee On Appropriations Subcommittee on Budget Requests, tomorrow (June 5, 2018)… Read More

June 4, 2018 @ 6:47 am By Shaswat K. Das and Richard S. Garabedian  |  

Over the past few years, continued advancements in the payments industry and financial services technology have significantly expanded the way money financial transactions are processed and managed.  Banks and payment and technology firms are accelerating efforts to innovate and adapt financial services alternatives to meet… Read More

May 26, 2018 @ 3:03 pm By JD Alois  |  

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo has schedule an open meeting on Monday, June 4, 2018 at 9:30AM. According to a release, the following items will be discussed: Final Rule: Indemnification (Amendments to the Swap Data Access Provisions of Part 49 and… Read More

May 22, 2018 @ 10:47 pm By JD Alois  |  

On the same day the North American Securities Administrators Assocation (NASAA) announced “Operation Cryptosweep” – a coordinated enforcement action targeting fraudulent initial coin offerings (ICOs), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair J. Christopher Giancarlo delivered a speech to NASAA members. Within his prepared remarks, Giancarlo stated;… Read More

May 22, 2018 @ 8:07 am By JD Alois  |  

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has issued an Advisory pertaining to “virtual currencies” and “derivative product listings.” The CFTC staff states: “Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC” or “Commission”) staff believes it is important to encourage innovation and growth in these products, but within an… Read More

May 21, 2018 @ 10:24 am By Cali Haan  |  

Last Friday, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission argued in a Boston courtroom that cryptocurrencies are tradable commodities that can be regulated under CFTC purview. The argument comes after lawyers for Randall Crater and Mark Gillespie of My Big Coin Inc. attempted to have fraud charges… Read More

May 16, 2018 @ 12:00 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Representatives from the three bodies policing securities in the US and the Chief Strategy Officer from the Bittrex cryptocurrency exchange spoke on an “Enforcement” panel May 15 at the Consensus conference in New York. Citing an “open door” policy, the regulators- James McDonald, Director of… Read More

May 12, 2018 @ 10:08 am By JD Alois  |  

Last week, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce delivered a powerful speech that shared her views on the mission of regulators broadly, and cryptocurrency innovation specifically. The speech has been widely lauded in the crypto space as it has been viewed as supportive of the potential for… Read More

May 7, 2018 @ 10:01 am By JD Alois  |  

Speaking in Berlin this week, Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair J. Christoper Giancarlo addressed the Association of German Banks. His theme was the pressing need for regulatory harmonization. Today, across developed markets, varying financial regulations adds a significant cost to the financial services industry. Same… Read More

May 4, 2018 @ 1:24 pm By JD Alois  |  

Commodity Futures and Trading Commission (CFTC) Commissioner Brian Quintenz commented on cryptocurrency enforcement actions this week. During a speech delivered to the FIA’s 40th Annual Law and Compliance Conference, Quintenz noted that the CFTC Crypto task force is coordinating with their counterparts at the Securities… Read More

May 2, 2018 @ 10:50 am By JD Alois  |  

According to a WSJ report, regulators are engaged in a debate as to whether Ether and other cryptocurrencies are in fact securities. While Bitcoin has been more clearly defined as a commodity, the rest broader universe of cryptocurrencies remain in limbo. The advent of Ethereum… Read More

April 27, 2018 @ 4:14 pm By JD Alois  |  

In a speech delivered this week at the Eurofi Summit, Commissioner Brian Quintenz, of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), addressed the topic of cryptocurrencies and digital tokens. Specifically, Quintez posed the question as to what should the proper role of a regulator be in… Read More

April 26, 2018 @ 12:18 pm By JD Alois  |  

It’s about time. The Commodity Futures Exchange Commission (CFTC) has published a white paper on Swaps Regulation Version 2.0. Entitled, An Assessment of the Current Implementation of Reform and Proposals for Next Steps, the unique aspect of this document is the fact that CFTC Chair J. Christopher… Read More

April 24, 2018 @ 1:17 pm By JD Alois  |  

LabCFTC, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Fintech initiative, is requesting public input to gather ideas and topics for innovation competitions to advance the agency’s Fintech goals. “We launched the LabCFTC initiative to stimulate and promote market-enhancing Fintech solutions,” said CFTC Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo…. Read More

April 18, 2018 @ 11:08 am By JD Alois  |  

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has fired off another enforcement action against a questionable cryptocurrency operation. The CFTC has charged multiple individuals, and several companies, with fraud involving ATM Coin (asset trading market coin) and binary options. The CFTC filed the Complaint in the… Read More

April 16, 2018 @ 1:09 pm By JD Alois  |  

Speaking at Vanderbilt University Law School this past week, Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo made some interesting comments. Giancarlo, a Commodore Alum, spoke about the digitization of finance (Fintech) and the subject of virtual currencies. Giancarlo reflected on time spent with… Read More

April 5, 2018 @ 1:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

My Big Coin (MBC) was hit with an enforcement action by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) back in January of this year. The CFTC alleged, among other things, that MBC’s initial coin offering represented to investors as being actively traded on cryptocurrency exchanges when in fact… Read More

March 16, 2018 @ 11:16 am By JD Alois  |  

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has a Whistleblower program in place regarding pump and dump schemes for virtual currencies and digital tokens. Virtual currencies would line up with Bitcoin, Ethereum etc. while digital tokens are from the thousands of initial coin offerings that blur… Read More