Commodity Futures Trading Balanced News

Senators introduce bipartisan bill to regulate crypto assets

Politicians are quickly seizing on US government efforts to study and regulate crypto. Reutersreports Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) have introduced a bill, the Responsible Financial Innovation Act, that would forge a "complete regulatory framework" for cryptocurrency and other digital assets. The measure is meant to protect consumers and fold crypto into existing laws without restricting technical progress.RIFA would set clearer definitions, such as establishing which assets are commodities or securities. It would also create requirements for stablecoins (cryptocurrencies pegged to another asset, such as conventional money) to minimize risks and enable speeder payments. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) would have the power to regulate digital spot markets, while providers would be subject to disclosure requirements. There would be a "workable" tax structure that would let you buy products with cryptocurrency without having to account for and report income.The act would also prompt the government to further research digital assets. It would create a "sandbox" where federal and state regulators could work together on experimental launches...
— (Engadget) (June 8)   (Pocket)

Funds Sell Oil At Fastest Rate In 15 Weeks As Economic Outlook Worsens

Funds Sell Oil At Fastest Rate In 15 Weeks As Economic Outlook Worsens By John Kemp, senior energy analyst at Reuters Investors sold petroleum last week at the fastest rate since just after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as the deteriorating economic outlook trumped fears about the impact of sanctions on oil supplies. Hedge funds and other money managers sold the equivalent of 71 million barrels in the six most important petroleum futures and options contracts in the week to June 21. The rate of selling was the fastest since the week ending March 8, shortly after the invasion, based on position records from ICE Futures Europe and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Sales over the last two weeks have totalled 82 million barrels, largely reversing purchases of 99 million over the previous four weeks, as traders’ focus has shifted from sanctions to the gathering economic downturn. In the most recent week, sales were led by the liquidation of existing bullish long positions rather than the creation of new bearish short ones, and by crude oil rather than refined products. Selling was concentrated in NYMEX and ICE WTI (-35 million barrels) and Brent (-30 million) with small...
— (ZeroHedge Opinion) (June 27)   (Pocket)

CFTC advocates for expansion of cryptocurrency market jurisdiction

June 21, 2022 - More than a decade has passed since Bitcoin was created, yet lawmakers and regulators continue to wade through important questions, such as which regulator should be permitted to regulate digital assets. Despite a lack of digital asset legislation, federal regulators, including the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), are adding resources to help police fraud in the digital asset markets in light of the rapidly increasing number of enforcement actions related to digital assets.
— (Reuters) (June 22)   (Pocket)

Crypto legislation comes into focus

It became clearer Tuesday how Washington is likely to regulate crypto — even though the equally important question of when that's going to happen remains unanswered. Why it matters: The one thing that crypto companies and crypto skeptics can agree on is that more regulation is needed, especially in the U.S. A new bill shows broadly what that regulation may look like. But don't hold your breath waiting for it to become law.Driving the news: The bill is co-sponsored by two senators: Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democratic senator from New York, and Cynthia Lummis, a Republican from Wyoming. But the real bipartisan nature of the bill comes from the fact that Gillibrand is on the Senate Agriculture Committee, which oversees the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, while Lummis is on the Banking Committee, which oversees the Securities and Exchange Commission.Their bill concentrates oversight of crypto in the hands of the CFTC, despite the fact that SEC chair Gary Gensler has been at the forefront of attempts to regulate crypto assets as securities. That's a win for the crypto industry, which would much prefer regulation from the smaller and more laissez-faire CFTC, even if the agency gets sl...
— (Axios) (June 8)   (Pocket)