by Jude Ayua    

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has announced on 27 January it would be hosting a series of public roundtable discussions focused on digital assets regulation and among other evolving trends on innovation and market structure. The roundtables aim to provide the CFTC with the best information needed to address key industry issues including affiliated entities and conflicts of interest, and prediction markets.

CFTC Acting Chair Caroline Pham said that the roundtables will involve industry leaders, market participants, and advocacy groups. “As I have long said, the CFTC must take a forward-looking approach to shifts in market structure to ensure our markets remain vibrant and resilient while protecting all participants,” Pham said.

She noted the prevailing risks associated with emerging technologies and emphasized the CFTC’s vital role in tech regulation.

Innovation and new technology has created a renaissance in markets that presents new opportunities that are accessible to more people, as well as risks. The CFTC will get back to basics by hosting staff roundtables that will develop a robust administrative record with studies, data, expert reports, and public input. A holistic approach to evolving market trends will help to establish clear rules of the road and safeguards that will promote U.S. economic growth and American competitiveness.

 

Read also: Trump’s Executive Order on Digital Assets: Policy Implications.

CFTC’s crypto regulation approach before Trump 2.0

Before President Donald Trump’s second tenure, the CFTC actively engaged in regulating the cryptocurrency market. In 2018, the CFTC published a statement about the Commission’s approach to “Virtual Currency Futures Market” regulation. It noted, “The CFTC seeks to promote responsible innovation and development that is consistent with its statutory mission…”

The CFTC believes that the responsible regulatory response to virtual currencies involves consumer education, asserting legal authority, market intelligence, robust enforcement, and govern-wide coordination. The CFTC first classified virtual currency as “commodity” in 2014.

Under the leadership of Chairman Rostin Behnam, the CFTC intensified its regulatory actions against major cryptocurrency exchanges. In 2024, the House of Representatives passed the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21), which sought to delineate regulatory boundaries between the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). When passed, FIT21 would grant the CFTC comprehensive jurisdiction over spot trading in digital commodities, expanding its regulatory scope beyond derivatives to include direct trading activities.

Nontably, throughout the Biden administration, the CFTC maintained a proactive stance on cryptocurrency regulation, notwithstanding the SEC’s stringent approach which the CFTC criticized.

President Trump’s Working Group on Digital Assets includes the CFTC Chair as a member, tasking the Commission and other member-agencies to submit recommendations for digital assets regulations in the US.

Read also: US Crypto Regulations: Trump Considering Quintenz for CFTC Chair.

Acting Chair Pham’s appointment

On 20 January, the day of President Trump’s inauguration, the CFTC announced that the members of the Commission had unanimously elected Commissioner Caroline D. Pham as Acting Chairman, effective immediately. 

Pham joined the CFTC as a CFTC Commissioner in January 2022, after her unanimous confirmation by the US Senate in March 2022, for a five-year term. He succeeds Rostin Behnam, who served as Chairman from January 2022. Behnam will remain a Commissioner until his departure on February 7, 2025.

Read also: Trump establishes President‘s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets.

Trump establishes President‘s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets – Crypto Asset Buyer

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Jude Ayua is a policy analyst at CAB. A lawyer, Jude is an associate at Infusion Lawyers where he is a member of the Blockchain & Virtual Assets Group. He is also a member of the Policy & Regulations Committee of the Stakeholders in Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria (SiBAN). Jude reports and writes on crypto policy and regulations. jude@infusionlawyers.com