CFTC | Crypto

Gemini has accused the CFTC’s enforcement division of using a false whistleblower report to form its 2022 lawsuit against the crypto exchange. Gemini Trust claims it was a “selfish desire” by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s litigators to advance their careers that allowed “dubious” charges to be brought against the crypto exchange in 2022. In a letter on Friday to CFTC Inspector General Christopher Skinner, Gemini alleged the agency’s Division of Enforcement lawyers relied on a dodgy whistleblower report to sue the company.  “DOE Staff selectively and unfairly weaponized the Commodity Exchange Act [....] to bring dubious false statements charges against Gemini,” lawyers for the exchange claimed. Read more

Senators questioned Brian Quintenz on prediction markets, his experiences dealing with debanking, and how he would potentially handle an entirely Republican-staffed CFTC. Brian Quintenz declined to say whether he supports maintaining a bipartisan balance at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission during a Senate nomination hearing on Tuesday, avoiding a key question from lawmakers weighing his potential return as chair. Quintenz, a former commissioner at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and US President Donald Trump’s nominee to chair the agency, addressed several questions about his potential policy stance on crypto if confirmed as the new head of the agency. Senators Tina Smith of Minnesota and Raphael Warnock of Georgia pressed him about whether he would make recommendations to Trump in support of having both Democratic and Republican commissioners at the CFTC. Quintenz avoided a direct answer, steering the conversation toward his experience. Read more

Trump’s CFTC nominee Brian Quintenz says blockchain will reshape industries beyond finance and calls for clear crypto rules to protect US leadership. Brian Quintenz, US President Donald Trump’s nominee to chair the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), has said that blockchain is a foundational technology poised to transform much more than just finance. In prepared remarks ahead of his Senate confirmation hearing shared with Cointelegraph, Quintenz pointed out the long-term impact of blockchain and cryptocurrencies. “I view blockchain as a horizontal technology that has the potential to touch every aspect of society,” he said. Quintenz, who most recently served as the global head of policy at a16z Crypto (Andreessen Horowitz’s digital asset arm), also mentioned the importance of a comprehensive regulatory framework for crypto markets. Read more

New legislation in Washington would have the CFTC regulate crypto, but is it currently able to provide effective rulemaking? Representatives in Washington want the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to regulate crypto, but there are questions about whether the agency is up to the task. Last week, US Congressman French Hill released the first draft of the Clarity Act, a bill that would create a new category of asset, the “digital commodity.” It would allow qualified assets to trade relatively freely on the secondary market. It would also give the CFTC most of the authority to regulate cryptocurrency. The CFTC is empowered and governed by the Commodities Exchange Act (CEA), a sprawling law periodically modified by new legislation to amend and modernize it. Like the Securities and Exchange Commission and many other federal commissions, the CFTC comprises five commissioners, each of whom must be confirmed by the Senate.  Read more

Roughly four months since his nomination and amid announced departures at the CFTC, Brian Quintenz’s nomination to head the financial regulator is moving forward. Brian Quintenz, a former commissioner on the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), may have the opportunity to chair the agency after his nomination by President Donald Trump moved to the Senate Agriculture Committee. According to the calendar of the US Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Quintenz will appear for a hearing on June 10 to consider his nomination as CFTC chair. The nomination hearing follows the departures of commissioners Summer Mersinger and Christy Goldsmith Romero at the end of May, leaving the five-seat panel with only two Senate-confirmed members as of June 1.  Quintenz’s potential confirmation is expected to result in a complete changeover of the CFTC’s leadership. Former chair Rostin Behnam left the agency in February, and, with the departures of Romero and Mersinger, only acting chair Caroline P...

Hyperliquid's etters have provided detailed feedback to the CFTC’s consultations on perpetual swaps and continuous derivatives trading, urging regulators to recognise DeFi’s power to improve transparency, efficiency and user control, and citing the project’s decentralised model as practical evidence. The post Hyperliquid Submits Comment Letters to CFTC on 24/7 Perpetuals Trading appeared first on Cryptonews.

Hyperliquid’s native token, HYPE, surged to a new record high following a significant increase in trading activity and open interest on the platform. This momentum mirrors the broader market upswing driven by Bitcoin’s latest price milestone and coincides with Hyperliquid’s public response to regulatory discussions with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Hyperliquid’s open […] The post Hyperliquid’s HYPE token soars to new ATH amid trading surge and CFTC collaboration appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Decentralized exchange Hyperliquid has submitted formal comments to the US CFTC supporting 24/7 perpetual derivatives trading. Hyperliquid, a decentralized perpetuals exchange operating on its own layer-1 blockchain, has submitted formal comments on 24/7 derivatives trading to the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). In a May 23 X post, Hyperliquid Labs announced that it has “submitted two comment letters to the [CFTC] in response to its recent Requests for Comment on perpetual derivatives and 24/7 trading.” The team behind the decentralized exchange (DEX) added: Hyperliquid stated that it is committed to the advancement of the decentralized finance (DeFi) space. The team also claimed that its implementation “exemplifies how core DeFi principles can be put into practice to enhance market efficiency, market integrity, and user protection.” Read more

Every member of the five-seat panel who had been serving at the CFTC in January could depart before 2026. Kristin Johnson of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has announced that she plans to depart the agency before 2026. In a May 21 notice, Johnson said she planned to step down from the CFTC “later this year,” having completed her term, which ended in April. The commissioner filling a Democratic seat at the financial regulator had served since March 2022 after being nominated by former President Joe Biden. In her farewell message, Johnson cited her work as a sponsor of the Market Risk Advisory Committee, which dealt with “nascent issues that arise with the introduction of decentralized financial products such as digital assets or cryptocurrency and other emerging markets.”  Read more

Christy Goldsmith Romero reportedly said she only planned to leave the financial regulator once Brian Quintenz had been confirmed as CFTC chair. Christy Goldsmith Romero of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) will step down on May 31, leaving three seats open at the financial regulator. In a May 16 announcement, Romero said her last day at the agency would be on May 31, ahead of her reported initial plans to leave if the Senate confirmed former commissioner Brian Quintenz as the new chair. Her departure will come a day after Commissioner Summer Mersinger is expected to step down to join the crypto advocacy organization the Blockchain Association as CEO. “It has been a tremendous honor to conclude my 23 years of federal service at an agency with such an important mission to ensure that financial markets perform their critical role in the US and global economies,” said Romero. Read more

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Commissioner Summer Mersinger will depart the agency on May 30 to become the Blockchain Association’s new CEO, effective June 2, according to a May 14 announcement. The announcement states that Mersinger’s appointment comes at a critical legislative moment for digital assets in Washington, where the Blockchain Association is pushing for […] The post Former front-runner for CFTC chair role resigns to lead Blockchain Association appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Summer Mersinger is expected to leave the commission three years before her term ends to lead the Blockchain Association. Update (May 14 at 6:58 pm UTC): This article has been updated to include comments from the Blockchain Association. Summer Mersinger, one of four commissioners currently serving at the US financial regulatory body Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), will become the next CEO of the digital asset advocacy group the Blockchain Association (BA).  In a May 14 notice, the Blockchain Association said its current CEO, Kristin Smith, would step down for Mersinger on May 16, allowing an interim head of the group to work until the CFTC commissioner assumes the role on June 2. Though her term at the CFTC was expected to last until April 2028, the BA said Mersinger is set to leave the agency on May 30. Read more

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