Regulatory uncertainty looms as CFTC struggles with vacancies

New legislation in Washington would have the CFTC regulate crypto, but is it currently able to provide effective rulemaking?

Representatives in Washington want the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to regulate crypto, but there are questions about whether the agency is up to the task.

Last week, US Congressman French Hill released the first draft of the Clarity Act, a bill that would create a new category of asset, the “digital commodity.” It would allow qualified assets to trade relatively freely on the secondary market. It would also give the CFTC most of the authority to regulate cryptocurrency.

The CFTC is empowered and governed by the Commodities Exchange Act (CEA), a sprawling law periodically modified by new legislation to amend and modernize it. Like the Securities and Exchange Commission and many other federal commissions, the CFTC comprises five commissioners, each of whom must be confirmed by the Senate. 

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