Several major crypto and traditional financial firms responded to a request from the US Trade Commission for Commodity Futures (CFTC) on the mechanics of crypto assets on February 25.
About the CFTC document
The CFTC published its request at the end of December 2018. In it, the Regulatory Authority’s LabCFTC Initiative, which focuses on fintech innovation, called for public comment on the main principles of the Ethereum Network. The official goal of the regulator was to understand similarities and differences between different cryptocurrencies and the “technology, mechanics and markets of virtual currencies beyond Bitcoin”.
In particular, Ethereum (ETH) and the opportunities and risks associated with the ecosystem are the focus of the inquiry.
What have the other companies said?
To date, CFTC’s 35 crypto and traditional financial companies have issued detailed opinions on this topic. The Blockchain R3 consortium, the non-profit Ethereum Foundation, Coinbase and ErisX, the blockchain technology firm ConsenSys, the crypto-finance company Circle, and Weiss Cryptocurrency Ratings were among the respondents.
Charley Cooper
R3 CEO Charley Cooper also praised the CFTC for its initiative in its statement. He made some predictions about the development of digital assets in 2019 and said he believed asset-backed tokens, such as those linked to gold or real estate, as well as proprietary asset tokens, would be the future of the industry.
Gus P. Coldebella
Director of Legal at Circle, wrote that the Ethereum Network, which supports various types of digital assets, could contribute to the global tokenization of values. Tokenization could also facilitate access to assets online and internationally as the Internet facilitates the transfer of information and makes it more accessible.
Brian Brooks
Coinbase’s Legal Department Director, focused on the risks and regulations surrounding the Ethereum ecosystem. For example, the company believes that the intention of the CFTC to adequately monitor the spot and derivatives market for ETH Zurich could be negatively impacted by the fact that the bulk of trading takes place outside the US.
Cointelegraph reported in early February that Chicago-based ErisX also submitted comments on the CFTC’s request. The stock market believes that the introduction of a regulated futures contract on ether would “have a positive impact on the growth and development of the market”.
Also published on Medium.