CFTC and SEC confirm joint effort to tackle crypto regulation

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) acting chair Caroline Pham revealed that the regulator is cooperating closely with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on crypto-related matters.

Pham made the statement during the Milken Institute’s “Future of Fintech Symposium, Fox Business’ Eleanor Terrett reported.

Pham said:

“We have restarted conversations at the staff level between the CFTC and SEC. We would like to work together. We have worked together well in the past and I look forward to getting back to regular order.”

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, head of the regulator’s Crypto Task Force, confirmed Pham’s remarks.

The statements confirm early February reports that the CFTC and the SEC were planning a joint effort to address crypto regulation in the US. The effort aims to revive the Joint Advisory Committee, which was created in 2010 to address regulatory concerns shared by both agencies but inactive since 2014.

Multi-layered cooperation

Pham reportedly also said that the regulator is engaging with the White House’s “Crypto Czar,” David Sacks, and the work has been great.

Peirce added that it is nice to have an administration that “is vested in having crypto clarity.” Additionally, the Commissioner, also known as “Crypto Mom,” shared that the Crypto Task Force is working on defining the boundaries of what the SEC should not regulate.

She also highlighted that reaching for public feedback on rulemaking efforts is important, adding:

“The people affected by the rules should have a place in making them.”

Regarding public participation in regulatory matters, the SEC Crypto Task Force recently announced a series of public and online roundtables on crypto rulemaking. The first session will be held on Mar. 21.

The remarks from Peirce and Pham come amid a significant change in the US crypto regulatory landscape. 

On Feb. 28, Sacks revealed the White House’s first crypto summit, which President Donald Trump would reportedly use as a venue to reveal the US Bitcoin (BTC) reserve strategy.

Additionally, as regulators seek ways to regulate crypto in the US, the SEC has been ending lawsuits and investigations. This week the regulator concluded its investigation of Yuga Labs and its lawsuit against Kraken.

Since mid-February, the SEC has also moved to dismiss lawsuits against Coinbase, Consensys, Robinhood, Uniswap Labs, and Gemini.

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