CFTC Commissioner Reviews Current Regulation Of Cryptocurrencies

CFTC Commissioner Brian Quintenz described deficiencies in U.S. regulation of cryptocurrencies and identified potential developments in the "broader tokenization revolution."

In remarks before the Eurofi High Level Seminar, Mr. Quintenz encouraged international regulators to develop different regulations for (i) cryptocurrencies that serve only as a medium of exchange or store of value and (ii) for tokens that are intended to represent physical assets.

Mr. Quintenz asserted that, in the future, a cryptocurrency's "volatility and transferability" could compare reasonably well even against a sovereign currency. In this "broader tokenization revolution," Mr. Quintenz outlined three motivations that may further increase the use of tokens: (i) tokenizing a company's product as a marketing ploy; (ii) creating a token to improve efficiency of the blockchain construct for assigning and tracking ownership, coined as "the back office tokenization revolution"; and (iii)