The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has announced a complaint against Gemini Trust Company over allegedly false or misleading statements regarding a bitcoin futures product, per a CFTC press release Thursday (June 2).
The CFTC alleged that, from July 2017 through around December of that year, Gemini made misleading statements about the possible self-certification of a bitcoin futures contract through a designated contract market.
The bitcoin futures contract was supposed to be settled through a reference through the spot bitcoin price on the relevant day, determined by an auction held on Gemini’s digital asset trading platform.
The complaint said Gemini provided information that was allegedly determined to be false, including information on whether the bitcoin futures contract would be susceptible to manipulation. The release noted that the CFTC must be able to work with information from market participants.
“Making false or misleading statements to the CFTC in connection with a futures product certification undermines the CFTC’s work to ensure the financial integrity of all transactions subject to the CEA, protect market participants, deter and prevent price manipulation, and promote responsible innovation and fair competition,” said Acting Director of Enforcement Gretchen Lowe. “This enforcement action sends a strong message that the Commission will act to safeguard the integrity of the market oversight process.”
PYMNTS wrote that there has been something of a scramble to lead the crypto regulations to plan for a “global hub.”
Related: UK Stakes Claim to Crypto Leadership, Cites Friendly Regulatory Climate
John Glen, the British economic secretary, said there was a plan to get on board with stablecoins to make a place for the starting and scaling of crypto companies — though it wasn’t clear whether the whole government was on board.
Glen had said the U.K. was “open for crypto business” in April, but Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey told attendees at the “Stop Scams” conference that cryptocurrencies are the front lines of the battle.
As Glen made his announcement, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) put new deadline in place, forcing companies that were waiting on the approval of their registration requests to halt operations.
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