CFTC

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed the first civil enforcement action in federal court for a scheme to unlawfully obtain millions of dollars in digital assets. The type of scheme is sometimes called “oracle manipulation,” which involves the hacking and manipulation of a smart contract to cause a system failure, theft, or other damages. Read on for more details. Read on »

The Biden Administration released its fall 2022 regulatory agenda outlining the regulations that have seen some advancement through the rule-making process. In it are a significant number of mortgage- and lending-related regulations intended to aid borrowers, increase efficiencies, and increase cybersecurity protections, which are expected to see finalized rules this year. Read on for more details. Read on »

In September 2022, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a complaint in federal district court in San Francisco against Ooki DAO, a decentralized autonomous organization, alleging violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC Regulations. Supporters of Ooki DAO asserted in an amicus brief the CFTC could not bring a complaint against Ooki DAO because it is not an entity. The court disagreed. Read on for more details. Read on »

The House Financial Services Committee heard testimony from FTX CEO John Ray III regarding the collapse and ongoing bankruptcy of the cryptocurrency exchange. Former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who was originally supposed to testify before the committee, was not present due to his arrest in the Bahamas. Read on for more details. Read on »

Bahamas-based cryptocurrency exchange FTX was valued at approximately $32 billion at the start of November. On Nov. 11, following a failed effort to be bought by competitor Binance, FTX began bankruptcy proceedings in US federal court. California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation announced plans to investigate the failed crypto exchange company immediately after the bankruptcy proceedings were announced. Read on for more details. Read on »

Democrat senators and representatives sent letters to federal financial regulators pressing them for answers regarding each agency’s ethics guidelines as they relate to the “revolving door” of government employees becoming lobbyists or consultants as a result of their employment with the government. The specific concern relates to the number of ex-government employees that have left the public sector for crypto and fintech firms. Read on for more details. Read on »

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has issued an order simultaneously filing and settling charges against bZeroX, LLC and its founders Tom Bean and Kyle Kistner for illegally offering leveraged and margined retail commodity transactions in digital assets as well as other federal charges.

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Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair Rostin Behnam testified before the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry to discuss the agency’s role as regulator of digital assets and the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act (DCCPA).

Behnam told the committee that the CFTC was the “right regulator” to oversee digital assets trading.

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Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), chair of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, sent a letter to four federal regulators and five crypto-exchange companies to gather information on actions being taken to prevent and address crypto-related fraud and scams.

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Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wy.) have introduced the first comprehensive and bipartisan cryptocurrency bill before Congress. The Responsible Financial Innovation Act attempts to address a wide range of issues related to the usage and regulation of cryptocurrencies.

The bill is currently viewed unfavorably by most traditional lenders and banks.

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