CFTC Ex-Chair: Crypto ‘Bubble’ Won’t Burst Without Set Regulations To Bring In Big Money

Former chairman Jim Newsome of the US financial regulator the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) predicted that the alleged cryptocurrency “bubble” will not burst soon, Forbes reported on March 8.

According to Newsome, the lack of a concrete regulatory framework means that institutional investors are still not participating in cryptocurrency markets. Without clear regulations and the resulting injection of “big money”, a burst of the “crypto bubble” remains unlikely, Newsome told Forbes.

Commentators inside and outside the cryptocurrency realm remain at odds over whether crypto assets are or ever were in a price bubble.

Newsome commented from his new position as a central advisor to US policy makers on cryptocurrency. This week he was due to deliver a report together with former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Paul Atkins, but the report was postponed, Forbes reports.

Regulating crypto assets and business practices remains a central concern for the current chairmen of the two national agencies in 2018. Current policy has focused on giving the industry room to grow. During a joint hearing on cryptocurrency Feb. 6, the CFTC’s J. Christopher Giancarlo and the SEC’s Jay Clayton refrained from heavy-handed rules, while resolving to keep a sharp eye on emerging products and services to be sure they comply with existing US regulations.

Following the joint meeting, markets reacted warmly to the reiteration of what was largely Clayton’s previously voiced policy.

Further updates and details of an international cryptocurrency regulatory effort could soon emerge at the upcoming G20 Summit later this month.