CFTC Chairman Warns of Regulatory ‘Gaps’ in Crypto and Political Betting

Times, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has issued a warning about the regulatory "gap" in cryptocurrency and called for stronger scrutiny of political gambling markets. CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam said he will step down on January 20, the same day as Trump's inauguration. Behnam expressed concern that regulation of digital assets (including Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies) is still inadequate: "There is still a large part of the digital asset field that is not regulated in the US regulatory system, given that some traditional financial institutions have already adopted these products and there is huge demand from retail and institutional investors for these products, we must fill this gap." Behnam believes that many digital tokens are commodities, and regulating the cryptocurrency market is the "responsibility" of the agency. He is also concerned about the legality and social impact of betting on politics and other events, as this new market has grown rapidly during the election period. He is "very concerned" about contracts related to elections, assassinations, terrorism, and gambling. As technology and high demand drive the growth of these markets, "the boundary between legal and illegal will become very blurred."