CFTC Technology Advisory Committee Discusses Crypto Regulation and DLT Adoption

The Technology Advisory Committee of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) discussed crypto regulation and distributed ledger technology (DLT) adoption during a meeting on Wednesday, March 27.

The committee discussed various reports on cryptocurrencies and DLT. The first was presented by Peter Van Valkenburgh, Director of Research at Coin Center, who spoke on various consensus mechanisms.

Referring to this topic, CFTC Commissioner Brian Quintenz said in his opening statement that Ethereum’s plan to shift from a proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus raises important regulatory questions, including the possibility of manipulating or falsifying the ledger.

Another report was presented by Kathryn Trkla and Charley Mills, members of the American Bar Association’s Jurisdiction Working Group. Their speech was dedicated to a recent report, dubbed “Digital and Digitized Assets: Federal and State Jurisdictional Issues.” In it the association reviewed the current state of crypto and blockchain regulation in the U.S., Malta, Switzerland and other countries.

The Distributed Ledger Technology and Market Infrastructure Subcommittee presented its report on the current state of DLT adoption and the potential use cases of the technology. The panel also addressed particular areas where the CFTC’s guidance could contribute to the further development of DLT.

The committee also discussed a report by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) about the recent release of the Common Domain Model 2.0 for interest rate and credit derivatives. The talk focused on the ability to digitize financial transactions and automate trading processes, as DLT is becoming more actualized in the derivatives space.

As Cointelegraph previously reported, in 2018 the CFTC requested feedback on the cryptocurrency to better understand the technology behind the Ethereum blockchain and how it compares to Bitcoin (BTC).

Later the agency received more than 30 public comments, including some from blockchain consortium R3, the non-profit Ethereum Foundation, U.S. crypto exchanges Coinbase and ErisX, blockchain tech company ConsenSys, crypto finance company Circle and Weiss Cryptocurrency Ratings. Cointelegraph presented a summary of company’s responses to CFTC.