US Senator John Boozman says Bitcoin is a commodity, no doubt about it – here’s why
US Senator John Boozman (R-AR) has revealed that federal courts and the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) view Bitcoin as a commodity.
In his opening remarks at the hearing titled “Why Congress Needs to Act: Lessons Learned from the FTX Collapse” on Thursday, Boozman said Bitcoin is a commodity in the eyes of prosecutors. He added that exchanges that allow trading of BTC should be regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
“Bitcoin, even though it is a cryptocurrency, is a commodity. It is a commodity in the eyes of the federal courts and in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). There is no dispute about this,” he said, adding:
“If there are exchanges where commodities are traded – be it wheat, oil or Bitcoin – then they must be regulated. It’s that simple. The choice not to regulate leaves consumers to those who would prey on them.”
The senator cited the collapse of FTX, once the third-largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, saying that despite being a foreign company, it was delivering losses to American clients.
He added that the CFTC is the right agency to regulate digital goods, which includes Bitcoin and thus any crypto exchange that offers BTC trading. He argued that the CFTC could help protect clients by building and implementing constructive, workable regulatory structures for markets to operate within.
“There is no better example of this than the CFTC’s regulation of the futures market, which has proven to be one of the more resilient markets, due in large part to the CFTC’s proven and reliable principles-based regulatory regime.”
Established in 1974, the CFTC is an independent agency of the US government that regulates the derivatives markets, which include futures, swaps and certain types of options. Rostin Behnam currently serves as Chairman of the CFTC.
During the first congressional oversight hearing on Thursday, Behnam said cryptocurrency was “potentially a threat to national security” after senators grilled him on the lack of regulation in the space.
Behnam also noted that regulating crypto would not be an easy task. He said that cryptocurrencies will exist even if the US government were to ban them completely. He said that despite regulations and restrictions known as geofencing, 2% of FTX customers were from the US
“It’s not meant to happen,” he said. “People will find a way to get exposure to offshore entities and activities, even if it’s banned in the U.S. — and we have to do something about it.”
