Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Jay Clayton released a public announcement regarding Initial Coin Offerings ( ICO ) which gave advise to investors looking into ICOs on Monday, December 11, 2017. CFTC’s own Chairman, J. Christopher Giancarlo, commended Chairman Clayton’s statement:

Washington, DC — Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo issued the following statement commending Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Jay Clayton’s statement on initial coin offerings:

“I commend SEC Chairman Clayton on his strong statement encouraging professional market participants and the retail investors they serve to recognize risks and legal responsibilities they have regarding cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings. I have said consistently that virtual currencies are unlike any commodity that the CFTC has dealt with in the past, and I know they pose challenges for the SEC as well. CFTC and SEC staff are in regular communication on these issues. I want to reiterate my previously stated emphasis that market participants should take note that the relatively nascent underlying cash markets and exchanges for bitcoin remain largely unregulated markets over which the CFTC has limited statutory authority. Investors should be aware of the potentially high level of volatility and risk in these markets.”

Last Updated: December 11, 2017

Both regulatory agencies have expressed concern over the unregulated market and remained hesitant to take action. Until this summer of 2017 both agencies began defining their presence in the ICO and cryptocurrency markets. This August the CFTC allowed LedgerX, to trade Bitcoin futures and on October released a primer for virtual currencies. The CFTC sided with the SEC’s announcement that Cryptocurrency can be treated as commodities. The SEC dedicated its own Cyber Unit to investigate ICOs filed its first charges on December 2017. The commendation from the CFTC towards the SEC’s stand on ICOs shows these regulatory bodies continue to closely watch the ICO market.

This quote was released on cftc.gov under “Speaches and Testimonies” found here.