Only CFTC Have Authority Over The Crypto Market

Despite the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s request to exercise regulatory rights over the virtual asset class, Christopher Giancarlo has argued otherwise. Giancarlo, a former commissioner for the commodities futures trading commission (CFTC), opined that cryptocurrency oversight falls under the purview of the CFTC and not the SEC.

CFTC And SEC Clash Over Crypto Oversight Functions

Brian Quintenz, the current CFTC boss, also aligned his thoughts with that of Giancarlo. Quintenz stated that since digital assets are classified as commodities and not securities, they are under the CFTC’s jurisdiction. The SEC can only exercise regulatory functions over it only when cryptos are classed as securities.

“For clarification sake, the SEC’s authority doesn’t extend beyond security. By attempting to exercise control over commodities or other assets such as wheat and gold, they are extending their rights beyond their boundary.”

It is remarkable to note that Giancarlo’s and Quintenz’s opinions were only about an hour apart. Giancarlo further remarked, “the present administration needs to nominate a CFTC chairman if it is serious about appropriate cryptocurrency regulation.”

Giancarlo Tweet. Source: Twitter

Interestingly, Quintenz has received support from the US house committee on agriculture, one of the ad hoc committees in the house of representatives. The committee stated (via its official Twitter account) that crypto is “greater than SEC.” Hence, Congress must clarify for the sake of investors and innovation in the crypto space.

These responses were geared towards Gary Gensler’s recent call for the SEC to oversee the crypto industry, including decentralized exchanges. Despite previously confirming that Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other top cryptocurrencies are not securities, the SEC chair is also clamoring for clarification on whether digital assets are part of the SEC’s purview.

Uruguayan And Columbian Legislators Push For Crypto-Friendly Policies

Uruguay has revealed it would soon adopt cryptocurrency legally for businesses to utilize crypto freely in their transactions. Also, Columbia is seeking to do the same, but it is doing so to protect investors and enable legal operations of crypto exchanges.

If Uruguay passes its crypto bill into law, the government would have to grant operating licenses to all crypto-related firms under anti-money laundering and its central bank policies. Remarkably, Uruguay’s crypto bill is not to adopt Bitcoin or any digital currency as a legal tender (like el Salvador); its bill is to enable merchants to conduct their businesses with digital currencies.

Similarly, the focus of Columbia’s crypto bill is to control the black market and ensure that the crypto industry is adequately regulated, especially at the exchanges. If approved, Columbia’s crypto bill makes it compulsory for any crypto exchange seeking to operate Columbia shores to register and have an operating license. Also, they must be willing to report any questionable transactions to the regulators and must not use customer funds for investment or trading purposes.

Uruguay and Columbia are the newest additions to the list of Latin American countries embracing the crypto industry. El Salvador was the first country to do so. Since then, Panama, Paraguay and Argentina have all taken steps to do the same.

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