CFTC Commissioner Opposes Regulation by Enforcement, Says Crypto Needs Clearer Rules

A commissioner with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Dawn Stump, has voiced concerns about cryptocurrency regulation through enforcement — the approach taken by both the CFTC and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

CFTC Commissioner Stump on Crypto Regulation

CFTC Commissioner Dawn Stump has raised concerns regarding the approach her agency and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are taking to regulate the crypto industry. The commissioner is a vocal proponent of clarifying guidelines for crypto assets.

In an interview with the Financial Times, published Wednesday, she explained that she opposes “regulating through enforcement.” Noting that regulators are hitting companies with fines and lawsuits without providing clear compliant guidelines, she said:

What I discourage here at the CFTC is bringing enforcement actions without giving the tools they need to be compliant … I think there’s a lot of that happening right now.

She emphasized: “We’ve never designed a regulation that explains to these entities how they could achieve that registration. I would have preferred that we would not have brought those types of cases until we had better defined how they might achieve compliance.

Several lawmakers have voiced similar concerns and have called for more clarity on crypto regulation. Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) said this week that “failure” by SEC Chairman Gary Gensler “to provide clear rules of the road for cryptocurrencies underscores the need for Congress to act.”

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce has also argued against regulation by enforcement, emphasizing the need for more clarity in crypto regulation. However, Gensler has insisted that the rules are clear on whether an asset is a security.

Nonetheless, Stump said:

I do wish the SEC would [give] more specifics on how they arrive at the conclusion that some of these things are securities.