The United States has been the global financial leader since World War II when the U.S. dollar became the world reserve currency. Consequently, Americans have enjoyed benefits like greater buying power, easier access to capital and low-interest rates—including on our national debt. Unfortunately, we face a growing threat to that dominance, from our national debt on the one hand and China’s ascendance and their own digital currency on the other. If the U.S. dollar lost its position as the world reserve currency, it would mean higher U.S. interest payments, more expensive debt repayments and a skyrocketing deficit. The best time …

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, have called for comments on a proposal which would require large advisers to certain hedge funds to report exposure to crypto. In a joint proposed rule published to the Federal Register on Sept. 1, the SEC and CFTC established a 40-day comment period for amendments to Form PF, the confidential reporting document for certain investment advisers to private funds of at least $500 million. The proposal suggested qualifying hedge funds report exposure to crypto in a different category other than “cash and cash …

Jill Sommers, who served as a commissioner at the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission, has joined the board of directors for FTX US Derivatives. In a Thursday announcement, crypto exchange FTX US’ derivatives arm said Sommers had become its latest board member in a seeming move to increase the company’s regulatory efforts. Sommers served as a CFTC commissioner from 2007 to 2013 under former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, and was the managing director of regulatory affairs for the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. According to Sommers, FTX US Derivatives aimed to become “the most regulated digital asset exchange …

Ripple Labs General Counsel Stu Alderoty has hit back at a recent opinion piece by Security and Exchange Commission chairman Gary Gensler, arguing that the regulator's crypto market shakedowns aren’t protecting consumers. In an Aug. 28 opinion piece on the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) titled “The SEC Wants to Be America’s Crypto Cop,” Alderoty claimed the SEC is “pushing aside his follow regulators” instead of concentrating on providing regulatory clarity for crypto. He gave an example of the recent “shakedown” of BlockFi by the SEC, which led to the company ending “up on the auction block” and two other similar …

Ava Labs CEO Emin Gün Sirer has dismissed sensational allegations from CryptoLeaks that his company used litigation to “harm” competitors and fool regulators, labeling it as “conspiracy theory nonsense.” Sirer made the comments in an Aug. 28 Twitter post to his 280,500 followers, referring to an Aug. 26 article from CryptoLeaks alleging the company formed a “secret pact” with U.S. law firm Roche Freedman to use the American legal system “gangster style” to “attack and harm crypto organizations." How could anyone believe something so ridiculous as the conspiracy theory nonsense on Cryptoleaks? We would never engage in the unlawful, unethical …

The United States subsidiary of electronic trading platform developer Clear Markets has reportedly received approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, to offer over-the-counter crypto derivatives products with physical settlement. In a Tuesday notice, SBI Holdings — a stakeholder of Clear Markets — said the CFTC had approved the U.S. subsidiary operating a Swap Execution Facility, in which it plans to offer derivatives trading for U.S. dollar and Bitcoin (BTC) pairs. The Japan-based financial services company said its market maker planned to expand its trading partners in the United States following pilot transactions on Clear Markets. SBI Holdings …

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, has proposed requiring large advisers to certain hedge funds to report any exposure to digital assets. In a Wednesday notice, the SEC and CFTC proposed amending their confidential reporting form for certain investment advisers to private funds of at least $500 million. The Form PR would require qualifying hedge funds to not include exposure to cryptocurrencies when reporting “cash and cash equivalents,” but rather add them under a different category “to report digital asset strategies accurately.” The two U.S. financial regulators cited the …

The Coinbase drama, which started at the end of July, continues with new developments. Last week a former Coinbase Global product manager Ishan Wahi pleaded not guilty to two counts of wire fraud conspiracy and two counts of wire fraud in a Manhattan federal court. Wahi was arrested during his attempt to board a flight from the United States to India in May and accused of insider trading. While the Wahi’s figure is central to two separate court cases, another two lawsuits appeared last week against the San-Francisco-based crypto exchange. Legal firm Bragar Eagel & Squire revealed that it would …

The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, has added 34 unregistered foreign entities to its Registration Deficient List, including at least six providing crypto-related services. In a Thursday announcement, the CFTC said it had expanded its list of firms that it requires to register with the CFTC for providing services including trading binary options, foreign currency or other products such as cryptocurrencies. The additions to the Registration Deficient List, or RED list, include B.O TradeFinancials, CryptoBO, Bitpay Options, CryptoSphereFX, Direct Cryptos and Prime Crypto FX. Since 2015, the CFTC has placed 202 companies on the RED List, warning …

MicroStrategy CEO and Bitcoin (BTC) bull Michael Saylor said that Ether (ETH) is ‘obviously’ a security as he doubled down on labeling BTC as the only commodity in the crypto sector. In an interview with Altcoin Daily, Saylor was questioned on his take regarding the classification of both BTC and ETH as commodities by United States Senators such as Kirsten Gillibrand and Cynthia Lummis, along with figureheads from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Saylor provided a lengthy run down on what he thou are the fundamental differences between the Bitcoin and Ethereum …

The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, has taken enforcement action against a South African national in what the regulatory body called its “largest fraudulent scheme involving Bitcoin.” In a Thursday announcement, the CFTC said it had filed a civil enforcement action in federal court for fraud and registration violations against Cornelius Johannes Steynberg. The South African national allegedly created and operated a global foreign currency commodity pool totaling more than $1.7 billion, only allowing the participants to pay using Bitcoin (BTC). The CFTC alleged that Steynberg used the South Africa-based firm Mirror Trading International Proprietary Limited to …

The French government has given former United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission chair Chris Giancarlo, also known as "Crypto Dad," the equivalent of a knighthood. In a Tuesday tweet from Giancarlo, the former CFTC head said France’s National Order of Merit awarded him a Chevalier — the equivalent of a knighthood — in a ceremony at the French ambassador's residence in Washington D.C. Those attending included current and former CFTC commissioners Rostin Behnam, Brian Quintenz, Christy Goldsmith Romero, Kristin Johnson, Caroline Pham, as well as Hester Peirce of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Merci for honor of l’Ordre National du …