American financial regulators have sat down with major stablecoin projects in an effort to better understand the industry. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Technology Advisory Committee held a public meeting on Feb. 26 to learn about stablecoins, cryptocurrency insurance, custody practices and cybersecurity. Three stablecoin projects: JPM Coin, MarkerDao and Paxo were in attendance, discussing different aspects of stablecoins during the meeting. The committee discussed various topics on stablecoins. The first was presented by Charles Cascarilla, CEO of Paxos, who spoke on the use cases of two of Paxos’ current stablecoin projects. Another report was presented by Eddie Wen, Global …

The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission has recently weighed in on the Security and Exchange Commission’s ongoing legal battle with Telegram by filing a letter that contained its views on the case. According to the submitted document, the CFTC’s Office of General Counsel believes that all digital currencies are commodities, thus implying that Telegram’s Gram token is not a security and therefore not subject to registration under the Securities Act of 1933. With that being said, the CFTC did concede that the Commodity Exchange Act does afford certain securities with the status of being commodities — to which security …

Another United States regulatory agency has weighed in on Telegram’s ongoing legal battle with the Securities Exchange Commission. Following a request by the New York Southern District Court, a division at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed a letter with the court on Feb. 18, expressing its views on the complicated case involving Telegram’s digital currency Gram. CFTC says digital currency is a commodity According to the letter, the CFTC’s stance on the case is “relatively straightforward” and stipulates that a “digital currency is a commodity.” Submitted by the CFTC’s Office of General Counsel, the letter represents the …

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed charges against a Colorado native and associated investment company on fraud charges. Denver local Breonna Clark, along with Colorado-based Venture Capital Investments Ltd., face civil action from the CFTC for defrauding investors, the agency said in a statement on Feb. 14. The pair also faces charges for not achieving registration with the government agency. The accused harnessed crypto and forex to deceive investors According to the CFTC’s charges, Clark and Venture Capital Investments claimed to manage a forex and cryptocurrency trading pool, baiting United States participants into involvement with hopes of financial …

Today is Saint Valentine’s Day, and in honor of this most romantic of holidays, Cointelegraph presents five of the crypto community’s most notable unions and breakups of the past 12 months. Kelly Lynn Loeffler and Bakkt Kelly Lynn Loeffler split from the crypto world in 2019, but can you blame her? Loeffler left Bitcoin futures exchange Bakkt, where she was CEO, for a place with a slightly bigger cloakroom: the United States Senate. Loeffler was named to replace Georgia’s Republican senator Johnny Isakson, who retired for health reasons. She will reportedly help oversee the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), a …

The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s fintech lab will host office hours during New York Fintech Week. In April, the CFTC’s fintech research unit, LabCFTC, will host office hours during New York Fintech Week to engage with innovators in the field, according to a recently published announcement. LabCFTC’s objective is to promote market-enhancing fintech innovation and competition, as well as provide the CFTC with a better understanding of emerging technologies. The office hours will enable interested parties to participate in dedicated discussions and give a presentation to regulators. LabCFTC as a beacon in the emerging world of fintech The …

Slowly but surely, institutional players are moving into the crypto/blockchain neighborhood. According to a 2019 Fidelity Investments survey, about 22% of institutional investors already have some exposure to digital assets, with most investments having been made within the past three years. Moreover, 4 in 10 respondents say they are open to future investments in digital assets over the next five years. “Institutional investor involvement in cryptocurrency in 2019 has been primarily about getting the infrastructure in place, such as the opening of Fidelity Digital Assets and Bakkt,” Jonathan Levin, co-founder and chief strategy officer of Chainalysis, told Cointelegraph, adding: “Now …

The clock is ticking on former Bakkt CEO senator Kelly Loeffler’s Financial Disclosure Report, with ethics watchdogs on guard. Senator files extension Loeffler filed an extension that would give her until May 5 to submit her Financial Disclosure Report. The report, which all officials are required to submit, airs potential conflicts of interest by identifying asset holdings. In the case of Loeffler, these are presumed to be substantial. Craig Holman, an ethics lobbyist at Public Citizen, told Cointelegraph, “Extensions on filing are not uncommon. The purpose really is just transparency, obviously, of one’s potential conflicts of interest.” Following her Jan. …

The former chairman of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has some new remarks regarding his Digital Dollar initiative, speaking in Davos. On Jan. 22, Ex-CFTC chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo confirmed that the Digital Dollar project will consider the advantages of a United States’ central bank digital currency (CBDC), according to written remarks for a Davos event hosted by industry media outlet The Block. At the event, Giancarlo is scheduled to deliver his first public speech devoted to the blockchain-based Digital Dollar project, first announced last week. Digital Dollar project will develop a framework practical steps to establish …

J. Christopher Giancarlo, former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), plans to promote the blockchain-based United States dollar with a new think tank. Giancarlo, who earned the “Crypto Dad” moniker for advocating a “do no harm” approach to blockchain regulation, is now setting up a think tank called the Digital Dollar Foundation to promote the idea of digitizing the U.S. dollar. Giancarlo’s digital dollar is based on technology behind Bitcoin According to a Jan. 16 report by The Wall Street Journal, the ex-CFTC chairman is establishing the non-profit foundation to study prospects for converting the dollar into a …

Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) are commodities, while the status of XRP is still unclear, the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said. CFTC Chairman Heath Tarbert has reiterated the regulator’s stance on both Bitcoin and Ether in an interview with online news outlet Cheddar on Jan. 13. Tarbert said: “So right now, Bitcoin and Ether are the two that we think fall under our jurisdiction.” In the United States, the CFTC is responsible for regulating commodities, while securities fall under the Securities Exchange Commission. At the same time, the chairman has apparently for the first time expressed …

Former Bakkt CEO and Georgia's new Senator Kelly Loeffler will help oversee major financial regulator, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Sworn into the United States Senate on Jan. 6, the crypto-friendly businesswoman has joined the Senate Agriculture Committee, which oversees the CFTC. The news was first reported by farm and policy publication Agri-Pulse on Jan. 6, while the official announcement was released on Jan. 7. Potential conflict of interest: CFTC regulates ICE’s markets Loeffler’s appointment to the agriculture committee is potentially setting up a conflict of interest as the new Senator is spouse of Jeffrey Sprecher, founder and CEO …