WASHINGTON, D.C.—Dennis Kelleher, Cofounder, President, and CEO, issued the following statement regarding a letter he sent to the leadership of the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture and the Committee on Financial Services expressing concerns with provisions in its Crypto Market Structure Discussion Draft (“Discussion Draft”):
“As lawmakers consider the path forward on crypto regulation, they must evaluate the failed promises of the industry and the carnage, manipulation, and outright fraud we have seen in recent years, costing investors trillions of dollars in losses. The Discussion Draft poses several serious concerns for investors, customers, and financial stability. For example, the Discussion Draft would exempt most cryptocurrencies from well-established securities laws and regulations and the purview of the SEC in favor of the crypto industry’s preferred regulator—the CFTC. That agency is a fraction of the size of the SEC and has never had the core investor protection mandate that governs the SEC. The Discussion Draft is also riddled with potential exemptions and self-regulatory measures that have proven to be dangerous.
“Despite charging the CFTC with regulating crypto exchanges and broker-dealers, the Discussion Draft provides the agency with no additional resources to implement the numerous rulemakings and oversight functions required by the text of the Discussion Draft. These unfunded mandates will come at the cost of the CFTC’s important existing work ensuring that vital commodities are available to the American people at fair prices and policing the derivatives markets, which play a vitally important role in our commodities markets ultimately for the benefit of farmers, producers, and everyday Americans.”
“The U.S. financial regulatory system for capital markets has helped foster the broadest, deepest, and most liquid markets in the world. However, it must be recognized those markets are not preordained to remain the preeminent markets in the world. Their depth and integrity has earned the trust and confidence of investors and customers worldwide and that is largely due to their faith in those markets being well-regulated. We hope Members, regardless of what they think about the Discussion Draft, take these thoughts into account as the process moves forward.”
Better Markets’ letter to Chairs Thompson and McHenry and Ranking Members Waters and Scott can be found here.
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Better Markets is a non-profit, non-partisan, and independent organization founded in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to promote the public interest in the financial markets, support the financial reform of Wall Street and make our financial system work for all Americans again. Better Markets works with allies—including many in finance—to promote pro-market, pro-business and pro-growth policies that help build a stronger, safer financial system that protects and promotes Americans’ jobs, savings, retirements and more. To learn more, visit www.bettermarkets.org.
