Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler said his agency and the top U.S. derivatives regulator should work together to rein in cryptocurrency exchanges, Bloomberg News reported. Gensler has asked SEC staff to collaborate with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to develop a new plan to oversee platforms trading tokens that are a mix of securities and commodities, according to remarks at an event hosted by the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. More rules are needed for exchanges because retail investors are currently vulnerable to scams and market manipulation, he said. “I’ve asked staff to consider how best to register and regulate platforms where the trading of securities and non-securities is intertwined,” Gensler said on Monday. While the SEC has jurisdiction over securities, the CFTC regulates the U.S. derivatives market — which has prompted a debate about which agency should take the lead in policing crypto. Exchanges such as FTX Trading Ltd. are pushing for the CFTC to take on an expanded role, while lawmakers on Capitol Hill as well as Gensler and CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam have been jockeying for control.
