On-chain analyst Willy Woo notes that the sanction spree the CFTC has embarked on could potentially be favorable to cryptocurrencies and investors.
Taking to Twitter, Willy Woo—an investor and analyst—asked, “anyone noticing BTC getting easier to trade ever since the CFTC went on the warpath to clean up crypto exchanges?”
In the tweet which went on to garner mixed reactions from users, Woo attached a link to a press release from the CFTC in which the commission fined Coinbase—America’s largest cryptocurrency exchange—US$6.5 million for violation of terms of the Commodity Exchange Act.
Woo, going further, mentioned how the widespread stop hunting has reduced owing to the pressure mounted on BitMEX by the CFTC when the commission charged the exchange for “attempting to evade” US regulations.
“This wave of regulatory cleanups is a necessary step before a Bitcoin ETF is ready for primetime”, concludes Woo, stating, “IMO very bullish”.
It is worth noting that Coinbase was just recently slammed with a fine of US$6.5 million by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, CFTC, for violations of the US Commodity Exchange Act which include “false, misleading or inaccurate reporting and wash trading”, ordering the exchange to “cease and desist from any further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act”.
Coinbase is the latest exchange to be caught in the web of litigation engaged in by the commission.
This is coming amidst reports of the exchange pushing back its plans to go public via a direct listing to April.
Just last year, the CFTC charged five entities affiliated with BitMEX with “operating an unregistered trading platform and violating multiple CFTC regulations”.
Among those charged were BitMEX founders, Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo, and Samuel Reed as revealed in a press release by the commission late last year. The CFTC went further to request disgorgement of ill-gotten gains by the entities involved, civil monetary penalties, restitution for the benefit of customers among other demands.
While some, including Willy Woo, see these ongoing sanctions as favorable to the Crypto community as they create a more propitious environment for investors whose interests would be better prioritized by exchanges; others have noted that the intervention of government-owned agencies and commissions in Cryptoasset trading and investments is rather counterproductive, as one of the principal advantages Cryptocurrencies have over government-controlled fiat currencies being independence is now gradually fading away.
Johnny Jaswal—Managing Director and General Counsel of the Jaswal Institute—speaking on the issue, pointed out, “for the digital asset space to flourish, compliant exchanges are required to protect investors, facilitate access to capital and support fair, orderly and efficient markets” in an editorial published this month.
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