By
Steve Muchoki
April 19th, 2024
As the SEC head believes the senators’ bill could undermine market regulations, the CFTC Chairman is confident in the proposition.
While the SEC Chair Gary Gensler is not impressed with the recent sweeping crypto regulatory bill by US Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam is pleased with the proposition. According to the SEC head, a bill like such could affect the broader capital market and “undermine” its protections. Meanwhile, the CFTC boss said the legislation “does a very good job.”
The Senatorial duo unveiled their proposed crypto bill earlier this month, outlining sweeping plans for crypto. The senators referred to the bill as “landmark bipartisan legislation” aiming to create a complete regulatory framework for digital assets. They added that the proposal supports financial innovation, flexibility, transparency, and consumer protection.
The proposal urges zero tax on all crypto transactions less than $200. Per the bill, the CFTC should be the watchdog over digital assets. The statement also implores crypto firms to ensure users have complete information before making decisions. Tagged the “Responsible Financial Innovation Act,” the senators said the proposal aims to restructure the markets for digital assets.
SEC Boss Discusses Concerns on Recent Crypto Bill Which CFTC Head Praised
However, Gensler revealed his stance on the proposed bill while speaking at The Wall Street Journal’s CFO Network Summit. The SEC commander expressed displeasure shortly after the CFTC praised the legislation, which boosts its agency’s reach on crypto. Gensler initially said he would rather discuss the senators directly when asked about the senator’s proposition. He then added that changes in crypto legislation could also affect mutual funds and stock exchanges. Speaking from the Commission’s point of view, the regulator boss said SEC intends to continue to protect its role in supervising companies that generate money from the public. He noted:
“Frankly, if I can turn away from the legislation, we don’t want to undermine the protections we have in a $100 trillion capital market. You don’t want your current stock exchanges, our current mutual funds, our current public companies [to] sort of inadvertently by a stroke of a pen say ‘you know what, I want to be noncompliant as well, I want to be outside of the regime’ that I think has been quite a benefit to investors and economic growth over the last 90 years.”
As the SEC head believes the senators’ bill could undermine market regulations, the CFTC Chairman is confident in the proposition. Behnam is satisfied that the proposal establishes the CFTC in charge of crypto regulation. The CFTC top executive has been advocating for the agency to have the upper hand over crypto. Behnam mentioned one of the things CFTC will do once it takes the spot of crypto regulatory.
“One of the trickiest things we’re going to have to do- and I think they address this very well – is deciphering between a commodity and security,” said he.