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Comment by dottrap | Hacker News Reader

Gold is classified as a commodity. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is the federal government agency that regulates the commodity futures and other commodity derivatives, not the SEC.

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The CFTC says they're in charge of cryptocurrency. They're already actively enforcing it too, the CFTC has brought multiple prominent cases against people in the crypto speace. For example Avi Eisenberg, FTX/Alameda, Gemini, aso.

It almost seems like there is no regulation nor clear guidance and even different arms of the government can't decide which it is.

https://fortune.com/crypto/2023/03/08/stablecoins-ether-comm...

But, see, until there is clearer guidance, cryptocurrencies don't get to just have a free ride (the way they have all too much up till now). You don't just get to say, "Well, gee, looks like no one is certain which of these agencies gets to regulate us; I guess that means we can do whatever we want and no one can stop us!"

Each agency is going to make a good-faith judgement as to whether they have jurisdiction, and if that means 2 or more agencies start telling you what you have to do...well, maybe you shouldn't have leaped with both feet into a brand-new area where the regulations were unclear just because you thought you could make a quick buck, hmm?

Regulatory bodies need to be empowered to regulate, and they need to demonstrate their jurisdiction. Like the department of energy can't just start making agricultural rules because agriculture involves energy - it needs to show that congress has specifically given it power to make agricultural rules, which would be pretty unlikely given that there is a separate department of agriculture. If no one knows who is supposed to be regulating something, that's a very compelling argument that no one has been empowered specifically to regulate that thing.

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