CFTC Chair emphasized that the agency will focus on targeting fraud in crypto markets while moving away from the”regulation by enforcement” approach.
Caroline Pham, the chairman of the US Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), warned that the agency won’t be going easy on the crypto industry just because the Trump administration is introducing pro-crypto policies in place.
While speaking at the Coinbase Annual Summit on June 12, Pham stated that she was happy to end the “regulation by enforcement” approach in the crypto industry, from the previous SEC chair Gary Gensler’s era. Instead, she stated that CFTC would be focusing on “catching fraudsters and scammers in our markets.”
She also warned anyone willing to twist the law or criminalize the crypto asset class or the blockchain technology. “I’m talking about lying, cheating, and stealing,” said Pham. The CFTC Chair told Yahoo Finance:
“There is no easy street for anybody, and regulators aren’t easy. Just because we are pro-innovation and pro-growth does not mean that you’re going to be able to get away with breaking the law.”
CFTC Chair on Crypto Adoption and Biden Government Policies
During her discussion with Yahoo Finance executive editor Brian Sozzi, CFTC Chair Caroline Pham shared her previous talk about “uberizing crypto”. Pham explained that the goal is to integrate digital assets so deeply into daily life that banning or criminalizing them becomes politically unfeasible, much like how Uber has become too entrenched to be easily shut down.
“When something becomes so big, so accepted, so part of our lives, you can’t really take it away then. The public, the people, voters, they won’t let you,” the CFTC chair said.
Furthermore, Caroline Pham also took a jab at the Biden administration stating that they went beyond the law on crypto. She further stated that the same approach also harmed forex markets and traditional derivatives.
“When we start to change the rules for […] global derivatives markets because we’re trying to be creative and ‘flex it’ to go after what we perceive to be bad or evil – crypto or blockchain – that is really breaking the fabric of our global markets,” said the CFTC chair.
On matters of crypto regulations, both the SEC and CFTC discussed working together on the rallies earlier this year—a move that could have downstream effects on rapidly evolving sectors like crypto gambling, which often operate in regulatory gray areas.
Crypto CLARITY Act Advances in the US
Earlier this week on June 10, the House Financial Services Committee approved the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act, in a 32-19 vote to advance the crypto market structure bill. The Act will now move to the Senate floor for further approval before it becomes the law.
If passed, the bill would define regulatory authority over crypto, potentially granting greater oversight to the CFTC while clarifying the SEC’s role.
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