Better Markets Says CFTC Is Unsuitable to Oversee Retail Crypto Trading

Better Markets says the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is unsuitable to oversee retail crypto trading, arguing its proposed framework could leave investors with weaker protections than Securities and Exchange Commission oversight.

The CFTC has requested public comment on a framework covering retail crypto trades made with margin, leverage or financing. It is also considering a new federal category that would place qualifying crypto trading platforms under its direct oversight.

Benjamin Schiffrin, Better Markets’ securities policy director, said the CFTC lacks an investor-protection mandate. He argued that the agency’s statutory authority, originally aimed at fraud in leveraged precious metals trading, does not establish that it should lead oversight of retail crypto markets.

Schiffrin also warned that the proposed framework could permit connections among market participants that were previously viewed as contributing to FTX’s collapse.

The CFTC and SEC are pursuing crypto policy under existing law after the CLARITY Act stalled in Congress. The SEC has proposed easing some custody rules for investment advisers, allowing limited trading of tokenized U.S. stocks and issuing guidance on how securities laws apply to crypto assets.