Rostin Behnam, chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), told the Financial Times that he will step down on January 20, the day of U.S. President Donald Trump's inauguration.
During his four-year tenure, Behnam led the CFTC in establishing the first federal carbon offset guidelines and strengthened the review of cryptocurrencies and so-called event contracts, including those that allow betting on elections. He also oversaw the CFTC's lawsuit against the cryptocurrency exchange Binance in 2023, which ultimately led to a $4.3 billion settlement with U.S. authorities.
However, Behnam expressed concerns during an interview with the Financial Times that the regulation of digital assets, including Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, is still insufficient.
There are still large areas of the digital asset space in the U.S. regulatory framework that remain unregulated. Given the adoption we have seen from some traditional financial institutions and the huge demand for these products from retail and institutional investors, we must fill this gap.
Trump has chosen Paul Atkins to lead the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), but he has yet to nominate Behnam's successor. According to previous reports from Bloomberg citing informed sources, Brian Quintenz, the policy head of the crypto division at Andreessen Horowitz, has become a leading candidate to lead the CFTC.
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