Commissioner Mersinger Says CFTC Should Regulate Crypto

In a speech before the American University "Web3 Summit," CFTC Commissioner Summer K. Mersinger asserted that the CFTC "is more than up to the task of effectively regulating and policing spot cryptocurrency markets."

She contended that:

(1) the CFTC operates with "clear rules of the road . . . As a principles-based regulator, our job is to establish a clear and comprehensible regulatory framework, while retaining flexibility for new entrants who have questions about future product offerings or the use of new technology";

(2) the "core principles [of the CFTC] are technology neutral" and "not tied to specific formats, procedures, or business models. As long as a regulated company and a regulated product satisfy the core principles that are in place, the CFTC has no view on the technology platform that delivers the product to consumers and market participants"; and

(3) the CFTC has "an unsurpassed level of expertise in market surveillance and research . . . [We have] developed the tools to effectively police a wide variety of markets under a wide variety of economic conditions."