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Digital Assets

  • CFTC wrestles with new clearinghouse models

    The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is attempting to update its regulatory framework for derivatives clearinghouses to address the rise of new business structures that integrate certain functions that previously were separated. The agency’s five commissioners disagree on the way forward, however, with some calling for moving forward one step at a time and others urging a slower, more comprehensive approach. Two pending proposals have brought these differences to light.

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  • Data Spotlight - Open interest in top crypto derivatives hit new highs in 2023

    At the end of 2017, CME Group and Cboe Global Markets received regulatory approval to list futures on bitcoin. A lot has happened in the intervening years, including the so-called "crypto winter" of 2022.  But an FIA data analysis shows that, despite recent challenges, crypto derivatives markets are going strong. 

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  • FIA responds to the IOSCO consultation on crypto-asset regulation

    FIA has filed a response to a consultation report on policy recommendations for crypto and digital asset markets from the Board of International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). 

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  • CFTC advisory committee focuses on cross-border coordination and efficiencies 

    The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) held the second meeting of the Global Markets Advisory Committee (GMAC), on 17 July, under the sponsorship of Commissioner Caroline Pham.  

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  • US House debates granting CFTC spot digital asset oversight

    The US House Committee on Agriculture, which has federal oversight over the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, held a hearing on 6 June titled "The Future of Digital Assets: Providing Clarity for Digital Asset Spot Markets."

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  • US House hearing examines path forward for digital asset regulation

    Two important committees of the US House of Representatives held a joint hearing on 10 May to discuss digital asset regulation, concluding with some potential next steps for both regulators and Congress to provide more clarity to the regulatory environment. The US House Committees on Agriculture and Financial Services held a joint Subcommittee hearing titled "The Future of Digital Assets: Measuring the Regulatory Gaps in the Digital Asset Markets." The Agriculture Committee has oversight over the US Commodity Future Trading Commission, while the Financial Services Committee has oversight over the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

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  • Key US House Committees hold hearings on digital asset oversight

    On April 27, the key US House committees held concurrent hearings on digital asset oversight. These complementary hearings were coordinated by Republican leadership in the Committees to identify regulatory gaps related to digital assets. Next month, the committees plan to hold a joint subcommittee hearing to consider ways to close those gaps. 

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  • Viewpoint – Issues to watch in global derivatives markets 

    Global cleared derivative markets are made up of a wide variety of participants, from different geographies and different business disciplines. But surprisingly, many of my conversations to start 2023 have focused on a few key priorities. 

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  • Viewpoint - Lessons from the Year of Crypto

    FTX's unlawful use of customer money should not completely overshadow the groundbreaking ideas it was proposing to disrupt finance. Direct access to exchanges, auto-liquidation, real-time margining—these ideas are not going away. Whether we like it or not, these new approaches to market structure will continue to challenge our way of doing business.

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  • SEC Enforcement Priorities

    The panel will discuss SEC tactics such as the increasingly sophisticated use of whistleblowers and trading data surveillance, and evolving enforcement priorities, such as the SEC’s focus on disclosures, sales practices, and other policies and procedures related to sales of complex products and trading strategies, with examples involving complex options-based strategies and variable annuities.

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