[NEWS] CFTC Chairman Says "We Will See a Wave of Enforcement Actions Against Cryptocurrency Companies Within the Next Two Years"

CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam said at the Milken Institute's 27th Annual Global Conference on the 6th that he expects a wave of enforcement actions against cryptocurrency companies to begin "within the next six months to two years."

Behnam said enforcement actions will increase as retail investor interest and cryptocurrency market values ​​rise. From a regulator's perspective, he said, "We'll probably see a new cycle of enforcement actions in the next 6 to 18 months, or 6 to 24 months, as asset values ​​rise and retail investor interest cycles occur."

He added, "Without the regulatory framework and transparency, and the tools that we normally use as regulators, fraud and deliberate manipulation will continue to occur."

Behnam's comments came after Robinhood, a U.S. investment app, received a Wells Notice from the SEC on the 6th. The SEC alleges that Robinhood's cryptocurrency division violated securities laws.

Last month, Consensys, developer of cryptocurrency wallet Metamask, and Uniswap, a major DEX, also received Wells Notices.

Over the past year or so, the CFTC and SEC have sued various cryptocurrency companies, including Binance and Coinbase. According to a Cornerstone Research report, the number of cryptocurrency-related lawsuits filed by the SEC in 2023 is the highest since 2013.

Behnam said in October last year that one-third of the CFTC's enforcement actions against cryptocurrency companies occurred in 2023. The CFTC reported in November that it had initiated 47 actions in the digital asset commodity space, including a lawsuit against Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

Speaking of stablecoin bill

During the panel discussion, Behnam was also asked about the possibility of a stablecoin bill being passed. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry and Democratic Representative Maxine Waters have been working on a stablecoin bill for more than 20 months.

Behnam cited the reduced number of days in Congress between election periods and holidays, saying, "I think it's still pretty unlikely," and "I think there's a lot of momentum and enthusiasm, and I think there's an effort from both members and both leadership, but it's going to be difficult to get a bill passed in the near term."

According to Behnam, there are still some issues to be resolved, such as who will be the primary regulator for stablecoin issuers and whether the federal or state regulator will oversee them.

Reference: Lecture
Image: Shutterstock

Related articles

US ConsenSys sues SEC over Ethereum securitization decision

SEC threatens enforcement action against major DEX Uniswap