CFTC: The not-so friendly regulator
Digital asset regulation in the United States has a problem. There are too many chefs in the kitchen, and in confusion, some digital dishes are getting burned while others are being snuck out the back door.
Digital asset regulation in the United States has a problem. There are too many chefs in the kitchen, and in confusion, some digital dishes are getting burned while others are being snuck out the back door.
The CFTC has again caused a commotion after taking enforcement action against Ooki DAO, leading to an intense debate on how DAOs should be held accountable for their activities.
Two U.S. regulators have staked a claim over digital asset regulation: the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
In the annual enforcement results, the CFTC filed 82 enforcement actions against defaulters, and a fifth of the affected firms are service providers in the digital assets industry.
The judge who ruled that the CFTC was justified in serving the DAO members via a chatbot has now ruled in favor of 2 lobby groups to file amicus curiae briefs.
The commission notified Ooki DAO members of its lawsuit against them in unconventional ways–through the help chat box, as well as an online discussion forum.
The FSOC published a report as part of its follow-up on Biden’s executive order on digital assets, calling for Congress to appoint one regulator for the sector.
Filed at the Southern District of Florida, the complaint accuses Digitex of operating a digital asset derivatives exchange from an office in Florida from May 2020 through to May 2022.
Decentralization does not equate to having legal immunity, as seen in the suit faced by Ooki DAO, who's being pursued by CFTC for allegedly engaging in activities without proper registration.
The U.S. regulator settled with bZx founders for $250,000 for illegal margined and leveraged commodity transactions, while also suing the Ooki DAO and its token holders.
The visit by CFTC’s Caroline Pham, who criticized the SEC’s “regulation by enforcement” earlier this year, comes as both agencies fight for digital currency industry oversight.
Neither the DCCPA nor its rival, the Responsible Financial Innovation Act, are expected to receive Senate floor votes before Congress adjourns for the mid-term election cycle.