Rostin Behnam, the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), stated on Wednesday that the crypto business might gain significantly from regulation headed by the CFTC, including a potential increase in the price of Bitcoin.
Behnam suggested that a clear regulatory framework might open the door for institutional investors to enter the industry. The only way institutional inflows into the cryptocurrency field would materialize is if there is a regulatory framework surrounding these markets, according to the chair.
"Growth might occur if we have a well-regulated space," he said. "Bitcoin's price may double if a market is CFTC-regulated."
Behnam has frequently stated that market players need to have regulatory clarity, something many in the cryptocurrency business has claimed is currently lacking. The CFTC as well as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other top regulators have fought over who should be in charge of overseeing the cryptocurrency industry.
Neither agency has been eager to issue many formal guidelines for crypto companies, preferring to instead establish regulatory precedent through enforcement actions.
"Non-bank [crypto] institutions thrive on regulation, they thrive on regulatory certainty, they thrive on a level playing field," Behnam added. "And they may say otherwise, they might bicker about the type of regulation - but what they love most is regulation because they are the smartest, the fastest, and the most well-resourced. With those attributes, they can beat everyone else in the market." Behnam said.
Behnam stated on Thursday that he supports the bill, which includes a provision that would permit the cash-strapped agency to charge fees to regulated firms. Behnam noted that this provision is essential if the CFTC is to successfully oversee cryptocurrency.
The Senate Agriculture Committee, which oversees the CFTC, has introduced a bipartisan bill that would make the CFTC the primary regulator for the cryptocurrency industry, expanding the agency's authority to oversee crypto spot markets and requiring crypto trading firms to register with the CFTC. However, the bill did not go so far as to specify where one agency's jurisdiction ended and the other began.
Behnam said in front of the audience on Thursday that the CFTC's struggle with the dual problems of jurisdiction over cryptocurrency markets and its relatively meager operating budget had affected its capacity to effectively combat crypto crime.
Markets momentarily flashed green on Sept. 27 as stock markets recovered from the fall on Sept. 26, sending the Bitcoin (BTC) price back to the long-term descending trendline resistance, which is currently at $20,100.
Unfortunately for bulls, the good momentum for stocks and cryptocurrencies quickly faded, and Bitcoin lost the majority of its intraday gains as it fell back below $19,000.
