The Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Rostin Behnam, testified before Congress this week to highlight the need for federal regulation over the digital commodity market. Rostin Behnam emphasized the importance of protecting customers, ensuring market resilience and stability, and preventing contagion to the traditional financial system.

Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange, is facing accusations of commingling customer funds totaling billions of dollars and regulatory breaches. Anonymous sources claim that Binance frequently used the collapsed Silvergate Bank for mixing funds. The stablecoin at the center of the dispute, BUSD, has been accused of being used to credit user accounts rather than genuine U.S. dollars. Binance denies the allegations, but the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has levied severe accusations against the company, alleging that it allowed trading firms based in the U.S. to engage in crypto derivatives trading on its international exchange while commingling funds and circumventing compliance controls.

One year after Biden's executive order on increased scrutiny and regulation of the crypto industry, there remains little clarity on which federal regulator will be tasked with the job. The SEC and CFTC both see crypto assets as their exclusive territories, but a principles-based regulatory approach is needed for the industry's development. The SEC defines most cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin as securities, while the CFTC defines them as commodities.

Brian Quintenz, the head of policy at a16z crypto and a former CFTC commissioner, said Friday that new legislation was needed in Congress amid ongoing regulatory uncertainty in the U.S. and what's been perceived by some as a widespread crackdown on the crypto sector by the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

US-based crypto exchanges lost market share in the 2023 Q1 as trading volumes continue to fall amid the crypto crackdown.

The head of bitcoin pool operator Mirror Trading International (MTI), Cornelius Johannes Steynberg, has been ordered by a US court to pay $3.4 billion in restitution and penalties, the highest civil monetary penalty ordered in any case brought by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The regulator charged Steynberg with fraud in June 2022, alleging that he accepted BTC valued at more than $1.7 billion from 23,000 Americans for running an unlicensed commodity pool scheme. MTI is undergoing liquidation in South Africa, and Steynberg is a fugitive from South African law enforcement detained in Brazil since December 2021. The order finds MTI liable for fraud and failure to comply with CPO regulations.

The House Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development has provided the witness list for Thursday's hearing examining regulatory holes in crypto spot market regulations.

Chris Giancarlo, the former senior U.S. markets cop known as "Crypto Dad," appeared to criticize his successors in Washington as they crack down on the cryptocurrency industry.

CFTC commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero believes the prevalent anonymity in crypto is a national security risk as it allows criminals to use digital assets for illicit purposes。

CFTC Commissioner Kristin Johnson said: “We’ve been in continuing conversations with [Binance] to … give them an opportunity to explain that conduct and to help us find a path forward.”