Congress stalls, CFTC moves first
In September, the Senate failed to pass the CLARITY Act. On October 5, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) went ahead and unveiled its first batch of draft crypto rules: two frameworks, CTX and CAM, open for public comment for 60 days.
The focus is leverage. Under the proposals, platforms that want to offer margin and leveraged trading to retail customers can choose to register federally. Ordinary spot trading wouldn’t be subject to mandatory registration; requiring it would take an act of Congress. In March this year, the SEC and CFTC jointly determined that Bitcoin and Ethereum are not securities.
Here’s the contrast: legislation has stalled, but regulation has taken a step forward. Still, this is only an advance notice, and another round of public comments will be needed before the rules can be finalized. Bitcoin is at $86,312 tonight, up 0.2% over 24 hours, with barely a reaction from the market.
I’d view this as a compliance tailwind over the medium to long term, but I wouldn’t chase a rally on the basis of a draft proposal.
$BTC
In September, the Senate failed to pass the CLARITY Act. On October 5, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) went ahead and unveiled its first batch of draft crypto rules: two frameworks, CTX and CAM, open for public comment for 60 days.
The focus is leverage. Under the proposals, platforms that want to offer margin and leveraged trading to retail customers can choose to register federally. Ordinary spot trading wouldn’t be subject to mandatory registration; requiring it would take an act of Congress. In March this year, the SEC and CFTC jointly determined that Bitcoin and Ethereum are not securities.
Here’s the contrast: legislation has stalled, but regulation has taken a step forward. Still, this is only an advance notice, and another round of public comments will be needed before the rules can be finalized. Bitcoin is at $86,312 tonight, up 0.2% over 24 hours, with barely a reaction from the market.
I’d view this as a compliance tailwind over the medium to long term, but I wouldn’t chase a rally on the basis of a draft proposal.
$BTC
