The chairman of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) believes Ether (ETH) is a commodity — and that ETH futures trading is becoming a reality. Heath Tarbert, who overtook J. Christopher Giancarlo in July, revealed his stance toward cryptocurrencies and forked coins at the All Markets Summit on Oct. 10, Yahoo Finance reports. First CFTC guidance on Ether While the CFTC has been very clear that Bitcoin is a commodity, this is reportedly the first time that the authority has provided a vision for Ether, the second-biggest cryptocurrency by market cap. Tarbert said: “We've been very clear on …

The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) charged Jon Barry Thompson, the head of a Bitcoin escrow service, with a $7 million Bitcoin (BTC)-related fraud. In an official news release published on Sept. 30, the regulator revealed that Jon Barry Thompson of Easton, Pennsylvania, is charged with “knowingly or recklessly making false representations to customers in connection with the purported purchase of Bitcoins worth over $7 million.” “Knowingly or recklessly” The official document alleges that — contrary to his claims — neither Thompson nor a company with which he was affiliated had possession or control over the Bitcoins that …

Cryptocurrency derivatives firm LedgerX alleges that former United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) chairman Christopher Giancarlo obstructed the approval of its amended Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO) registration because of personal bias against the firm’s CEO Paul Chou. As Industry news outlet Coindesk reported on Sept. 28, LedgerX made the allegations in two letters obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request. The first letter — dated July 3 — states: “We have strong reason to believe that this unreasonable delay that is in clear violation of the Commodity Exchange Act is related to the Chairman’s animus towards a blog …

After more than a year spent ensuring full compliance with the United States authorities, Bakkt, the first federally regulated platform for Bitcoin (BTC) futures trading, launched on September 23. Conceived by the global trading giant Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and counting a solid portfolio of investors from Microsoft’s venture fund M12 to Starbucks as its backers, Bakkt offers institutional traders something brand new. The platform’s value proposition is physically-settled BTC futures contracts, combined with a sound custodial service approved by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Assuming that it is digital assets’ volatility and lack of regulatory safeguards that deters otherwise …

Bakkt’s physically settled Bitcoin (BTC) futures trading is now live for trading on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). New option for traders As of 8 PM EST on Sept. 22 (00:00 UTC Sept. 23), Bakkt’s much-anticipated BTC futures trading has launched. The platform is the first of its kind to receive approval from United States regulators and is a product of ICE, the operator of the New York Stock Exchange. While news of Bakkt’s launch and intention to facilitate BTC futures trading broke over a year ago, the platform itself has seen numerous delays owing to regulatory concerns. On Aug. 16 …

Coinbase’s vice president Dorothy D. DeWitt will now serve as director of the division of market oversight at the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The U.S. CFTC Chairman Heath P. Tarbert announced on Sept. 17 that DeWitt will take responsibility for the CFTC’s oversight over derivatives platforms and swap data repositories, as well as other new platform-traded products. From asset management to market oversight Prior to joining the CFTC, DeWitt served as vice president and general counsel for business lines and markets at U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange and wallet provider Coinbase. DeWitt also held positions as a partner and …

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group is petitioning United States regulators to allow its clients to double their open Bitcoin futures positions. Double open positions limit, says CME According to Nasdaq on Sept. 12, CME has already put its plans before the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). If successful, each investor would gain a monthly limit of 2,000 contracts per spot month instead of the current 1,000. The move comes on the back of constant growth in demand for Bitcoin futures, with CME’s volumes setting new records on a regular basis. As Nasdaq notes, the CFTC officially states that lower-risk …

Over the last 24 months, all major legal systems have been floundering to develop a regulatory framework that can be applied across the blockchain industry. This lack of a standard foundation has led to the world watching current court cases within the crypto industry with extreme scrutiny, as these will likely provide a precedence to build future regulatory decisions upon. Cointelegraph has covered many of these cases, with the most (in)famous one being the lawsuit against self-proclaimed Bitcoin creator Craig Wright. But what do all these cases suggest in regard to the overall sentiment toward crypto within the United States …

Binance is expected to launch its upcoming exchange platform in the United States by the end of the year, with the company’s executive estimating that the platform will launch within “a month or two.” In the interview, Changpeng Zhao (aka CZ), the CEO of Binance, predicted the launch despite acknowledging that many things are still “in flux” regarding the platform’s planned operations in the U.S. CZ noted that the U.S. has historically enacted “very clear regulations” regarding financial technology, adding his expectation that despite current “uncertainties in the regulatory space,” early adopters in the industry will likely be better rewarded. …

As the appeal of cryptocurrency has grown, so has the opportunity for scammers to part naive investors from their money. 2019 has been no exception, with cryptocurrency and blockchain forensics company Ciphertrace dubbing it “the year of the exit scam.” Exit scams are not a new phenomenon, with a 2018 report conducted by Statis Group revealing over 80% of initial coin offerings (ICOs) in that year to have been fraudulent. Here, Cointelegraph explains exit scams and how to spot them, as well as a look at some of the biggest scams that have been discovered by various researchers. What are …

Bakkt has announced the coming launch of its much-anticipated platform for daily and monthly futures in the United States in a blog post on Aug. 16. Having received approval from the necessary regulators, the launch is scheduled for Sept. 23. Bakkt’s physically delivered futures have been the subject of a great deal of anticipation, with the company initially announcing its launch August 2018 before being subject to repeated delays over compliance issues. Satisfying the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has proven particularly challenging. The company began testing in earnest on July 22, as Cointelegraph reported at the time. Per the …

Amir Zaidi, the director of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC’s) Division of Market Oversight (DMO), is rumored to be leaving the CFTC within weeks. Multiple anonymous sources aware of the situation have confirmed this claim, according to a report by Bloomberg Law on Aug. 8. Zaidi has been the director of the CFTC’s DMO since January 2017. He is acknowledged as being responsible for creating Bitcoin (BTC) futures trading policy, as well as rewriting market regulations for over-the-counter swaps. One source added that former DMO director Vincent McGonagle is expected to reprise his role as an acting …