The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has announced Monday, March 11, that international securities dealer 1pool Ltd. and its CEO Patrick Brunner must pay a total of $990,000 for illicit Bitcoin (BTC) transactions with U.S. customers. The Marshall Islands-based startup, which was offering BTC-funded security-based swaps, and its owner have been fined for illegally offering BTC-margined retail commodity transactions to U.S. investors. Moreover, the CFTC states that 1pool Ltd. failed to register as a futures commission merchant and did not comply with the required Anti-Money Laundering (AML) procedures. The CFTC imposed a civil penalty of $175,000, while also …

Christopher Giancarlo, chairman of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (СFTC), has said that blockchain would have transformed regulators’ real-time responses to the the 2008 global financial crash, if it had been in use at the time. Giancarlo made his remarks during the 4th Annual DC Blockchain Summit in Washington D.C. on March 6. In his speech, Giancarlo drew on his personal experience as executive vice president at brokerage giant GFI Group — which, in 2008, as he noted, operated one of the world’s largest trading platforms for credit default swaps (CDS), “then the epicenter of systemic risk.” He …

Several major crypto and traditional finance companies have replied to the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) request on crypto asset mechanics as late as Feb. 25. The CFTC published its inquiry in late December 2018. In it, the regulator’s LabCFTC initiative, focused on fintech innovations, sought public comments on the main principles of the Ethereum network. The watchdog’s reported aim was to understand similarities and distinctions between different cryptocurrencies and the “technology, mechanics, and markets for virtual currencies beyond Bitcoin.” In particular, the request for input focuses on Ethereum (ETH), along with opportunities and risks associated with its …

On Feb. 17, the United States Commodity and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) stopped accepting public comments regarding the Ethereum (ETH) mechanism. Previously, as 2018 was drawing to a close, the agency requested the feedback on the cryptocurrency to better understand the technology and how it compares to Bitcoin (BTC). The CFTC, which oversees the futures and options market in the U.S., has long determined that Bitcoin is a commodity, and therefore falls into its regulatory purview. In December 2017, the agency allowed two major regulated exchanges — the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) — …

United States blockchain advocacy group Chamber of Digital Commerce has encouraged two major financial regulators to foster blockchain innovation, according to an official tweet on Feb. 19. The group has reportedly provided comments to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in different proceedings this week. Generally, the Chamber of Digital Commerce has asked both agencies to permit the introduction of new financial products based on blockchain technologies and to collaborate on efficient approaches that would promote investment and industry growth. In its comments to the CFPB, the advocacy group group encouraged the regulator …

United States Commodity and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) commissioner Brian Quintenz has suggested that participants in the cryptocurrency industry should create a self-regulatory structure. Quintenz made his remarks during a Bipartisan Policy Center panel held on Feb. 12. More precisely, Quintenz said that because of the CFTC’s lack of crypto statutory oversight capability, he suggested that crypto “platforms come together to form some type of self-regulatory structure where they can discuss, agree to, implement, and hopefully examine or audit.” According to Quintenz, such an organization could carry out audits concerning conflicts of interest, business conduct, insider trading, redemptions, custody and …

Controversially self-proclaimed “Satoshi Nakamoto” and nChain chief scientist Craig Wright has reportedly submitted two near-identical comment letters to the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Wright filed his two documents on Feb. 15 in response to the agency’s request for industry input and feedback on Ethereum (ETH)’s mechanics and market. The closing deadline for responses to CFTC’s request for input (RFI) was Feb. 17, the agency having outlined its reasons behind gathering the information as follows: “The input [...] will advance the CFTC's mission of ensuring the integrity of the derivatives markets as well as monitoring and reducing systemic …

Chicago-based crypto exchange ErisX has filed a comment letter with the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in response to the agency’s request for feedback on Ethereum (ETH)’s mechanics and market. The letter, submitted on Feb. 15, sets forth the exchange’s belief that “the introduction of a regulated futures contract on Ether would have a positive impact on the growth and maturation of the market.” As reported, ErisX is a reboot of traditional futures market Eris Exchange, and is expected to begin support for spot trading in Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum and Litecoin (LTC), as well as futures contracts, in …

Last week, the CEO of the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) said that the firm’s digital asset platform, Bakkt, is expected to launch later in 2019. It is time to look deeper into the project, and see what it can bring to the crypto industry. What is Bakkt exactly? Bakkt (pronounced “backed,” referring to “asset-backed securities”) is a digital assets platform created by ICE, the Atlanta-based operator of 23 major international exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), which is by far the world's largest exchange, trading nearly 1.5 billion shares a day. It was first announced on Aug. 3, 2018, …

Brian Quintenz, a Commissioner at the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), has argued against the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) grounds for not approving a Bitcoin (BTC) exchange traded fund (ETF). Quintenz made his remarks during a panel at the BiPartisan Policy Center in Washington D.C. on Feb. 12. Quintenz specifically argued that potential price manipulation should not be a barrier to the SEC approving a Bitcoin ETF. The CFTC Commissioner participated in the panel alongside SEC Commissioner Heister Peirce. Peirce has notably earned the moniker of “crypto mom” due to her vocal dissent against the SEC’s move …

United States regulator the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has announced cryptocurrency will form a priority for its internal examinations this year, according to a press release published on Feb. 12. The CFTC, which has released its examination priorities for the first time in 2019, will include various crypto-related aspects in its Division of Market Oversight (DMO), Division of Swap Dealer & Intermediary Oversight (DSIO) and Division of Clearing & Risk (DCR) papers. According to the press release, those priorities pertaining to cryptocurrency include cryptocurrency surveillance practices, as well as other market and trading surveillance including real-time monitoring. “I commend …

Law enforcement requests sent to Switzerland-based cryptocurrency exchange ShapeShift rose 175 percent in the second half of 2018, according to a new Compliance Transparency report published by the exchange Jan. 18. In a blog post accompanying the report, Shapeshift outlines that it typically receives requests from law enforcement agencies for data including crypto addresses (in or out of the Shapeshift system), transaction IDs, identity information (names, emails, IP addresses), cryptocurrency or crypto asset information and more. ShapeShift emphasizes that in most cases it is not informed of the details of the investigation or probe for which the data is being …