CFTC Chairman announces increased enforcement for cryptocurrency

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is preparing to take “groundbreaking” enforcement actions for cryptocurrency, according to Chairman Rostin Behnam. He stated that the agency, which aims to increase its oversight of crypto trading, is expecting an influx of cryptocurrency enforcement actions in the coming year.

Behnam highlighted that the CFTC is expanding its enforcement and surveillance teams with an increase in the agency’s budget. In the past year, he said, 20% of the CFTC’s enforcement cases have been related to digital assets, which is a disproportionate focus given the sector’s small size relative to the markets the CFTC oversees.

The chairman emphasized the need for Congress to grant the CFTC the legal power to monitor the trading of tokens that are not classified as securities. He said he will be working with legislators in the newly inaugurated Congress to develop legislation that would make that possible.

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Behnam indicated that the CFTC will use all its power to tackle unlawful transactions involving digital assets and that the agency has already brought important precedent-setting cases against those who are illegally providing derivatives or digital asset products with leverage, margin, or financing to customers in the US or conducting activities within the US.