U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Rostin Behnam has called on Congress to be more proactive in regulating cryptocurrencies and election betting.
At the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) annual meeting held on Monday, Behnam emphasized the need for greater legislation regarding the regulation of crypto spot markets and the impact of tokenization on financial markets.
“Digital assets are one of the areas that needs the most regulation, but I would like to see more input from Congress on what blockchain and tokenization will bring to financial markets,” Behnam said. However, he said he does not expect Congress to take any major action this year because of the holidays and the federal budget that needs to be approved.
Looking ahead to 2025, he noted that with a new Congress and president, there is a higher likelihood of some crypto regulation legislation. One of the bills currently on the agenda, FIT21, aims to increase the CFTC’s authority to oversee crypto spot markets and specifically “digital commodities” like Bitcoin.
Election bets continue
The CFTC has also been busy lately with event prediction markets. These markets allow users to bet on future events, but the CFTC believes that betting on elections is illegal. Behnam said Congress should step in on this issue as well.
The CFTC has been in a legal battle with Kalshi, a betting betting betting platform, for some time now. Last month, a federal appeals court overturned a CFTC decision that blocked Kalshi’s election betting. The CFTC has filed a new motion to overturn the decision.
Stay tuned for new information.