commodity trading chairman addresses crypto law, ag market issues

the top of a countrywide regulatory institution advised a gathering of south dakotans that his company ought to tackle cryptocurrency guidelines inside the future.

rostin behnam, chairman of the commodity futures buying and selling commission (cftc), spoke at a joint meeting of the south dakota corn utilization council and the south dakota corn growers affiliation. the assembly changed into tuesday morning at the raven precision agricultural middle at south dakota country college.

behnam mentioned the new law that could give the cftc authority over regulating digital commodities like cryptocurrencies. the virtual commodities patron safety act of 2022 was added closing week via u.s. senators john thune, r-south dakota, debbie stabenow, d-michigan, john boozman, r-arkansas, and cory booker, d-new jersey.

the regulation ambitions to give the cftc some authority over cryptocurrency, like bitcoin and ethereum, to make transactions extra transparent and offer federal oversight to the marketplace, as well as guard towards fraud and abusive alternate practices.

“i might say it’s an essential element, it’s a vital aspect, however it’s also a trade for the corporation,” behnam stated.

he introduced there has been a few pushback against the cftc potentially regulating cryptocurrency markets, however behnam believes the organization is able to overseeing that trading.

“we need to attention on what we do and what know-how we have, and that’s commodity markets, and allow’s simply use the gear we’ve got and make a few modifications,” he said. “lifestyles’s changing, era evolves, and we’re geared up for it. it’ll be thrilling to see what takes place.”

behnam’s agency generally works with derivatives markets.

derivatives markets address economic contracts whose price comes from the value of the assets being sold or bought, like currencies, stocks, bonds, commodities, and so on. a commodity is a uncooked material or agricultural product, like coffee, corn or coal.

the cftc oversees these styles of markets, promotes aggressive markets and protects traders from fraud, manipulation and abusive change practices.

behnam additionally mentioned the growing expenses in commodity markets because of inflation.

“natural gasoline, fuel charges are manifestly quite extended, and we’re seeing a lower in those commodity prices over the past couple months, however nonetheless quite multiplied, and again, correlated to various of things,” he said.

he attributed the multiplied expenses to impacts from covid-19, deliver shortages throughout the state and the russian invasion of ukraine.

behnam stated the cftc is running to ensure neighborhood farmers are benefiting from derivatives markets.

“i suppose collectively as a group, and genuinely me as chairman, we very lots awareness at the ag markets, at the power markets, ensuring the markets are operating properly for you,” he said.