CFTC Chairman Urges Congress to Advance Crypto Regulation and Election Betting Legislation

Rostin Behnam, chairman of the U.S. CFTC, presented a legislative wish list for Congress at the SIFMA annual meeting, urging Congress to take action on cryptocurrency regulation and election betting. Behnam said: "There are a lot of things going on in terms of technology and disruption. Digital assets are obviously a top priority in terms of spot market regulation, but what impact will blockchain and tokenization have on financial markets? I personally hope that Congress will play a bigger role in these areas than it does now." He added that Congress is not expected to achieve any results on crypto legislation this year, given the holidays and the need to pass the federal budget. "I think when we look forward to 2025, a new Congress, a new president, you may see some legislation." Behnam also pointed out that the CFTC has always believed that election event contracts are illegal, and this kind of betting puts the agency in a difficult position as an "election policeman." "This is a classic area where I think Congress should actually intervene." (The Block)