In a vote, the US Senate approved President Joe Biden’s decision to appoint Rostin Behnam as Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Rostin Behnam has been the interim CFTC chairman since 2017, succeeding Heath Tarbert. This Wednesday, the US Senate voted to approve President Biden’s decision to appoint Behnam as CFTC chairman.
In October, Behnam, at a hearing before the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, asked lawmakers to expand the Commission’s powers, given the evolving digital asset market. He stated that the CFTC is “aggressively” pursuing litigation over cryptocurrency issues.
“Given the size and scale of this market, as well as the growing risks to financial stability, I think it is important to have a top cop on duty,” Behnam said.
The US President also announced his selection of two new members of the Commission. Back in December, it became known that Biden plans to nominate Emory University professor Christine Johnson and former CFTC law enforcement senior adviser Christy Goldsmith Romero for leadership positions. Such a major change in CFTC leadership could have a significant impact on the regulation of the cryptocurrency industry.
Recall that during the period while Behnam served as acting chairman, the Commission fined Tether and Bitfinex $ 42 million for statements that mislead investors and illegal transactions with US citizens. In August, BitMEX agreed to pay the CFTC and the United States Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) a $ 100 million fine for illegal doing business in the United States, as well as violating KYC and AML rules.
In early December, CFTC Commissioner Dawn Stump stated that without clearer legislation to regulate cryptocurrencies, measures taken against cryptocurrency companies, such as fines and lawsuits, may not be justified.
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