CFTC Chairman Urges Congress to Take Action on Cryptocurrency Regulation and Election Gambling

CFTC Chairman Urges Congress to Take Action on Cryptocurrency Regulation and Election Gambling

CFTC Chairman Urges Congress to Take Action on Cryptocurrency Regulation and Election Gambling

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CFTC Chairman Calls on Congress to Take Action
Election Betting

Rostin Behnam, Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), recently urged Congress to take action on cryptocurrency regulation and election betting. According to The Block report, Rostin Behnam stated at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) annual conference on Monday:

“There have been a lot of things happening in terms of technology and disruption. Digital assets are obviously a primary consideration when regulating the spot market, but what impact will blockchain and tokenization have on the financial markets? These are areas that I personally hope Congress will pay more attention to.”

Rostin Behnam has previously pushed for cryptocurrency legislation and stated that he does not expect Congress to accomplish anything this year due to the holiday and the need to pass the federal budget.

“I think as we look forward to 2025, a new Congress and a new President, we may see some relevant legislation.”

Several bills are currently being discussed by lawmakers, including FIT21, which would grant the CFTC more power and funding to regulate the cryptocurrency spot market and “digital commodities,” particularly Bitcoin. FIT21 passed the U.S. House of Representatives in May but has since made little progress. Patrick McHenry, the Republican Representative from North Carolina and Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee who will retire in January, remains optimistic about the bill’s passage before the end of the year.

The CFTC has also been monitoring the dynamics of prediction markets, which allow users to bet on the outcomes of future events, ranging from the total amount of snowfall in New York City this month to the severity of an economic recession that may occur this year.

The CFTC has consistently maintained that betting contracts related to elections are illegal, putting the agency in an awkward position. Rostin Behnam stated on Monday:

“This is an area that I think Congress should actually get involved in.”

Over the past year, the CFTC has been embroiled in a legal battle with prediction market platform Kalshi. The agency stated that Kalshi cannot offer election contracts, adding that it is “not in the public interest.” Subsequently, Kalshi filed a lawsuit in November 2023. Last month, Judge Jia M. Cobb of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the CFTC exceeded its statutory authority in trying to prevent Kalshi from offering election contracts. The agency quickly appealed the decision but was ultimately rejected by the federal appeals court on October 2.

However, the CFTC took further action last week, arguing in an appellate brief that the judge’s ruling was incorrect and requesting that it be overturned.