How valuable is the cryptocurrency industry?
CFTC Chairman Michael Selig made significant remarks regarding the cryptocurrency sector.
Michael Selig: "We are establishing clear rules, but it is critical that these rules be codified into law.
We aim to solidify them so that a future administration, even if hostile to crypto, cannot dismantle our regulations.
We want the United States to lead on crypto, and this law will help us achieve that.
This legislation will require exchanges registered with the CFTC to comply with AML (Anti-Money Laundering) and KYC (Know Your Customer) requirements as digital commodity exchanges.
Of course, there are entrenched interests trying to block this law. But what this administration believes in—and what I consider vital—is competition and innovation. We believe in regulation: setting clear rules, protecting investors and customers, and ensuring our markets function well.
At the same time, we must allow for innovation. If this innovation doesn’t happen here, it won’t disappear—it will move to China or another foreign country, and we will miss this opportunity.
The United States must lead; we need a clear law that establishes the rules and enables our markets to continue evolving—from the buttonwood agreement, through trading pits, electronic markets, and now blockchain-based markets.
We are excited about this; as the United States, we must lead, and we cannot allow another country to take this opportunity away from us."
