Rostin Behnam, former chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and now a Distinguished Fellow at Georgetown University’s Psaros Center, issued a strong appeal for Congress at a joint congressional hearing on May 6 to close what he called a dangerous regulatory gap in the oversight of digital assets. The gap refers to the absence of federal oversight for digital assets that are not classified as securities, leaving much of the cryptocurrency spot market outside the regulatory authority of both the CFTC and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Testifying before the House Subcommittees on Digital Assets and Commodity Markets, Behnam reflected on his tenure as CFTC chair from 2021 to 2025, underscoring that during his time in office, he consistently warned Congress about a legal void:

Throughout this time, I publicly repeated one consistent message to Congress: under current U.S. law, there is a gap in regulation for the nonsecurity digital asset market.

Behnam emphasized that this persistent gap has enabled widespread misconduct in the crypto space, exposing investors to unnecessary risk. He stressed: “The regulatory gap remains today, and must be filled with targeted legislation; it has facilitated countless scandals and fraudulent activity, some very small and typical in criminal form, others massive in profile.”

Citing research that nearly 20% of Americans now own digital assets, he argued that piecemeal approaches and regulatory hesitation have only deepened the vulnerabilities facing retail and institutional participants alike. The former CFTC chair criticized the notion that establishing a U.S. regulatory framework would legitimize illegitimate actors, stating that such logic has had the reverse effect by leaving most of the market unregulated.

Among his key suggestions, Behnam called for clear rules distinguishing securities from commodities, dual registration requirements for firms handling both, and a limited disclosure regime tailored to assets like bitcoin. He also pushed for anti-money laundering safeguards, a fee-based funding model for the CFTC, and inclusion of a self-regulatory organization to strengthen enforcement.

Proposing a path forward, Behnam urged lawmakers to implement legislation that distinguishes digital assets as either commodities or securities, thereby clarifying regulatory jurisdiction. He also advocated for new CFTC authority to supervise non-security tokens like bitcoin, and outlined principles such as tailored disclosures, dual-agency registration, anti-money laundering mandates, and public education initiatives. Emphasizing the stakes, Behnam concluded with a direct call to action:

We need to act thoughtfully, but with urgency, to fill this harmful regulatory gap in order to give American investors the protection they deserve.

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