In remarks to the Futures Industry Association Expo 2023 on Monday, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair Rostin Benham tried to portray his agency as playing the role of a neutral enforcer of financial market probity.
Yet Benham described a vastly expanded effort to crack down on decentralized finance (DeFi) and cryptocurrency platforms. He freely boasted about the number of enforcement actions that the CFTC has taken against such players in recent months.
The CFTC Seeks Authority to Curb DeFi
During his address, Benham made a nominal effort to cast the CFTC as a neutral umpire of the markets. One that does not favor or disfavor any particular type of firm or platform.
“It has never been, and it will never be our job to choose winners and losers. The onus is on the market and its participants to determine which innovations add value and which end with novelty,” Benham stated.
In spite of these assurances, many of the speaker’s following remarks took pains to depict DeFi platforms as bad actors. And to justify the harsh actions that the CFTC has taken and plans to take.
Benham spoke with pride of the number of actions targeting DeFi and cryptocurrency. According to his figures, nearly half of them now target bad actors operating in these areas.
“Continuing our success in the fight against fraud and illegal conduct involving digital assets, 45 of those actions this fiscal year involved digital asset related misconduct, representing over 34% of the 131 such actions brought by the Commission since 2015,” he said.
Go to Source to See Full Article
Author: Michael Washburn
Tip BTC Newswire with Cryptocurrency
Donate Bitcoin to BTC Newswire
Donate Bitcoin Cash to BTC Newswire
Donate Ethereum to BTC Newswire
Donate Litecoin to BTC Newswire
Donate Monero to BTC Newswire
Donate ZCash to BTC Newswire
