John Boozman Calls For Crypto To Be Regulated By The CFTC

4 months ago

During a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing in July, Sen. John Boozman (R-AR) said that cryptocurrencies should be regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Transcript

00:00I'd like to call this hearing to order.

00:02I thank my colleagues for joining us today.

00:04We are here to talk about digital commodities

00:06and hear from a range of stakeholders

00:08on what this committee needs to do with respect to legislation.

00:13It's been reported that the current market cap

00:16for the digital asset market exceeds $3.5 trillion.

00:21Approximately 70% of digital assets are traded digital commodities

00:26and roughly 55 million Americans own or use crypto.

00:32The U.S. currently lacks comprehensive federal regulation

00:35of the digital commodity markets,

00:38which means a significant percentage of Americans trade with crypto

00:42with very limited federal customer and market risk protections.

00:48This has been referred to as the digital commodity regulatory gap.

00:52While the regulatory gap hasn't stifled consumer interest in crypto,

00:57we know from past experiences what can happen

01:00when crypto intermediaries operate outside of a regulated framework.

01:05Without clear and comprehensive digital commodity market regulation,

01:11Americans' economic interests are at risk.

01:14The lack of comprehensive federal regulation in the U.S.

01:18has created significant regulatory uncertainty among innovators,

01:24developers, and market participants.

01:27Not knowing the rules of the road,

01:29U.S. businesses have moved overseas,

01:32leaving U.S. consumers vulnerable.

01:34This is why we must act on digital assets legislation

01:37to protect customers and ensure innovation and growth remain in the U.S.

01:43I've said it before, but will say it again.

01:46The CFTC and only the CFT should regulate the spot trading of digital commodities.

01:54The CFTC currently is enforcement authority over these markets.

01:59We should build upon that authority,

02:01not distribute it among different regulators.

02:05Let me be clear.

02:06entities that list or facilitate the trading of digital commodities

02:10should not be exempted from CFTC regulation

02:14simply because they are registered with another federal agency.

02:19The U.S. financial capital market stand as the deepest

02:23and most liquid in the world

02:26is largely a byproduct of the federal government's bifurcated approach

02:31to regulating those markets.

02:33With the SEC regulating the securities market

02:36and the CFTC regulating the commodity derivatives market.

02:41This longstanding American approach to financial market regulation

02:45was at the core of the Dodd-Frank Act's regulation

02:49of the swaps and security-based swaps market

02:52and should be the foundation upon which we build a comprehensive

02:56regulatory framework for digital assets markets.

03:03This is not to pit regulators against one another.

03:06It's the opposite.

03:08We draw inspiration from the agency's past regulation of the swaps market

03:12as we entrust the CFTC and the SEC

03:16with the authority to collaboratively regulate the digital asset markets.

03:23We must act expeditiously

03:26to develop a comprehensive regulatory framework

03:29framework for the trading of digital commodities,

03:32but we must ensure we get this right.

03:36We must also support our colleagues in the banking committee

03:40as they work on a regulatory framework

03:42for the trading of digital assets in securities transactions.

03:46As with the CFTC and the SEC,

03:50while there are clear lines of jurisdictions between our committees,

03:53we are committed to working collaboratively

03:56on a comprehensive bill for the digital asset marketplace.

04:01I, alongside ranking member Klobuchar and all members of the committee,

04:04will work in a transparent and bipartisan manner

04:07to develop this regulatory framework.

04:09This task requires hearing from everyone who wants to be hired

04:14and for all committee members to work together

04:16to create a framework that allows for liquid

04:19and resilient spot digital commodity markets,

04:23strong retail protections,

04:25and rules that give American businesses confidence

04:28to continue to innovate and grow in the United States.

04:33Today, we'll hear from former CFTC chairman,

04:36the head of the Derivative Self-Regulatory Organization,

04:39and the head of an association

04:41representing a diverse group of crypto stakeholders.

04:45I look forward to hearing their thoughts

04:47as we contemplate legislation.

04:51And with that, I now turn to our ranking member,

04:54Senator Klobuchar, for her opening statement.

John Boozman Calls For Crypto To Be Regulated By The CFTC

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