The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) will be discussing ways to better align the regulations throughout the different agencies, Wealth Management reports.
The SEC and CFTC outlined their efforts in a joint statement on regulatory harmonization opportunities, and also announced that they will conduct a joint roundtable on the topic to be held on Sept. 29..
“It is a new day at the SEC and the CFTC, and today we begin a long-awaited journey to provide markets the clarity they deserve,” said SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins and CFTC Acting Chairman Caroline D. Pham in the statement. “By working in lockstep, our two agencies can harness our nation’s unique regulatory structure into a source of strength for market participants, investors and all Americans.”
They added, “To the extent possible and appropriate in the public interest under existing statutes, our respective agencies should consider harmonizing product and venue definitions; streamlining reporting and data standards; aligning capital and margin frameworks; and standing up coordinated innovation exemptions using each agency’s existing exemptive authority.”
Atkins and Pham said that by aligning their regulatory frameworks, the SEC and CFTC “can reduce unnecessary barriers, enhance market efficiency, and create space for innovation to thrive. Our shared goal is to ensure that America remains the global leader in capital markets.”
Among the priorities listed in the statement was 24/7 markets. The agencies said that for on-chain finance to scale, they should collaborate to consider the possibility of further expanding trading hours, where appropriate. Factors that may be relevant to this include operational feasibility and liquidity consistent with investor and customer protections.
The roundtable will be held at the SEC in Washington, D.C, and will be open to the public and webcast live on the SEC’s website. A recording of the roundtable will be later posted on the SEC website.
“The SEC and CFTC must coordinate to ensure there is not a regulatory “no man’s land” due to inaction by one or both agencies,” the statement said. “Failure to coordinate, and the resulting regulatory uncertainty, have chilled productive economic activity even when the products would otherwise be allowable under federal law. That chapter belongs to history.”
Several days earlier, the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets and the CFTC’s Division of Market Oversight and Division of Clearing and Risk announced a cross-agency initiative to coordinate efforts regarding the process for enabling the trading of certain spot crypto asset products.
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