CFTC Chief Sees Agency Stretched Thin by Election Bets, Crypto

(Bloomberg) -- The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is at an “inflection point” after a court decision legalized contracts that allow speculators to bet on election outcomes, Chairman Rostin Behnam said in a Bloomberg Television interview.

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The agency intends to comply with the court’s decision and regulate trading on those derivatives contracts, even as it appeals the ruling and holds that such enforcement isn’t within the agency’s authority, he said.

“The contracts will continue to grow, and we will have to monitor them closely,” Behnam said.

The decision has left the CFTC continually “stretched thin” as it tackles an inflow of assets to regulate, including cryptocurrencies, Behnam said.

Behnam said during a Bloomberg Global Regulatory Forum panel later in the day that the International Organization of Securities Commissions, where he is vice chair, is close to releasing a document outlining good practices for carbon markets.

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