CFTC Establishes Digital Asset Advisory Committee, Including Crypto Venture Capitalists, DeFi Experts, and Public Blockchain Executives

The CFTC has organized the largest single advisory committee plan in history, consisting of a total of 128 members, all composed of industry professionals. Members of the Digital Assets Subcommittee include executives from Uniswap Labs, Polygon Labs, and Crypto.com, among others.

Digital Assets Subcommittee

According to an announcement, the CFTC has launched its largest-ever single advisory committee initiative, with the Global Markets Advisory Committee (GMAC) as its centerpiece, consisting of three subcommittees:

• Global Market Structure Subcommittee, GMSS

• Technical Issues Subcommittee, TISS

• Digital Asset Markets Subcommittee, DAMS

The committee comprises a total of 128 members, all industry professionals, and is scheduled to hold a public meeting on July 17 at the New York Stock Exchange.

Crypto Venture Capitalists, DeFi, and Public Chain Executives Included

The Global Market Structure Subcommittee (GMSS) will be led by CFTC Commissioner Caroline Pham.

The Digital Asset Markets Subcommittee (DAMS), which is of particular interest in the crypto space, consists of 36 members, including:

• Tom Jessop, President of Fidelity Digital Assets

• Marvin Ammori, General Counsel of Uniswap Labs

• Rebecca Rettig, Head of Policy at Polygon Labs

• Tuongvy Le, Head of Policy at Bain Capital Crypto

• Jason Urban, Global Head of Trading at Galaxy Digital

• Steve Humenik, Global Head of Derivatives at Crypto.com

Rebecca Rettig, Head of Policy at Polygon Labs, told DL News:

This initiative signals that regulators are committed to bringing safety and stability to the crypto industry, and Commissioner Caroline Pham's approach is truly commendable.

CFTC Budget Less Than SEC by 30%

DL News points out that the CFTC's budget is $681.3 million, a quarter of the SEC's $3 billion budget, leading to past CFTC chairs complaining about insufficient funds, let alone the additional effort needed to oversee the new asset class of "cryptocurrencies."

Nevertheless, both the CFTC and SEC seem to be vying for regulatory authority in the crypto space.

While SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has emphasized that everything other than Bitcoin is a security, CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam believes that Ether and stablecoins are commodities falling under the CFTC's regulatory purview.