With the ink still drying on its Binance action, CFTC chair Rostin has noted that \u201cunder existing law, many of the tokens constitute commodities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking during a Dec. 12 interview with CNBC\u2019s Squawk Box<\/em>, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission head acknowledged that there is an urgent need for a more comprehensive regulatory rulebook from Congress.<\/p>\n Rostin emphasized that while crypto assets have solidified their presence in the global finance market, regulatory bodies must collaborate with Congress to close present gaps in legislation.<\/p>\n Unlike Rostin, SEC chairman Gary Gensler has argued that proof-of-stake tokens \u2014 which would include ether since the blockchain\u2019s shift from proof-of-work last September \u2014 are securities that should be registered and regulated by his commission.<\/p>\n Rostin Benham also spoke about the $4.3 billion settlement with Binance and the departure of its CEO, Changpeng Zhao.<\/p>\n \u201cWe work together and we feel like we got the bad actor here,” referring to the high-stakes action by the CFTC and the U.S. Department of Justice against the world\u2019s largest crypto exchange by trading volume and CZ.<\/p>\n Zhao, who founded Binance in 2017, pleaded guilty in Seattle last month to one charge of violating the Bank Secrecy Act and agreed to pay a $50 million penalty, as well as resign from the CEO job. A federal judge recently determined that the former Binance CEO was a flight risk and said he must stay in the United States until his sentencing in February 2024.<\/p>\n What are the odds CZ will join the disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried in the prison yard? Benham suggested the ex-Binance CEO will end up behind bars.<\/p>\n “We have over $4 billion in fines on the criminal and civil side…and he will be going to jail,\u201d he opined.<\/p>\n CZ faces up to 18 months of incineration, though he may serve as few as 10.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/zincable.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/CB_AffiliateBanner_V3_728\u00d790.png\")
<\/p>\nWeeding Out Bad Actors<\/strong><\/h2>\n