Former CFTC Chair Behnam Warns Crypto Will Stay Unregulated Without Expanded Authority
Rostin Behnam, former Chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), says the U.S. crypto market will remain effectively unregulated unless Congress grants broader authority to the agency he once led.
In a May 28 interview with Bloomberg TV, Behnam emphasized that existing laws leave a regulatory gap—one that neither the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) nor the CFTC can currently fill.
“If you look at existing law, the largest cryptocurrencies—like Bitcoin and Ether—are commodities,” Behnam said. “That means the SEC doesn’t have jurisdiction over them.”
While the SEC has limited power to oversee securities-related tokens, Behnam noted that the CFTC’s role is restricted to derivatives markets. Without new legislation empowering the CFTC to directly regulate the cash markets for non-security digital assets, the broader crypto market will continue to operate in a legal gray area.
“Until Congress steps in and gives the CFTC authority to regulate cash markets in digital assets, this space will remain largely unregulated,” he warned.
Political Scrutiny Grows Over Trump-Linked Crypto Ventures
CFTC Chair Behnam Warns comments come amid mounting political scrutiny of cryptocurrency activities linked to former President Donald Trump and his family. These ventures include World Liberty Financial, various memecoins, and a newly launched stablecoin.
On the same day as Behnam’s interview, political strategist Sanders Townsend accused Trump of leveraging his presidential influence to benefit his family’s crypto interests.
“Trump is boosting his family’s investments in cryptocurrency—and he’s using the presidency to do it,” Townsend said, warning that the administration’s involvement in shaping crypto policy is triggering ethical concerns on Capitol Hill.
He added that strict standards apply to government officials regarding conflicts of interest, and that these rules must be respected to maintain public trust.
CFTC Chair Behnam Warns : Regulation Key to Market Integrity
Behnam also responded to Vice President JD Vance’s comments at the Bitcoin 2025 conference, where Vance declared that the current administration “rejects regulators” and described crypto as having “a champion in the White House.”
Behnam pushed back on those remarks, underscoring the role regulation plays in maintaining global confidence in U.S. financial markets.
“Regulators are the reason American markets are the most desired in the world,” he said. “Consumer protections and enforcement of the law are absolutely essential to the health of our financial system.”
Behnam concluded that unless federal authorities act to establish clear and comprehensive crypto oversight, both retail and institutional investors will remain exposed to fraud, manipulation, and systemic risk.
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