WASHINGTON, DC – The Senate has confirmed Rostin Behnam as chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). He will officially take helm of an agency that regulates a wide range of financial products that are essential tools for end users like farmers, ranchers, municipalities and pension funds,
“Rostin Behnam has proven himself to be a capable leader during his tenure as acting chairman of the CFTC,” said Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., the ranking member on the Senate Ag committee. ‘He is well-qualified, understands agriculture and brings a measured approach to regulating.”
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which oversees much of the $582 trillion global derivatives market including cryptocurrency trading, oversees and helps safeguard the futures and swaps markets used by agricultural producers to manage financial risks.
Behnam has been a CFTC commissioner for the past four years and has served as acting chairman since Jan. 21, 2021. Previously, he was senior counsel for the Senate agriculture panel and prior to that an adviser to the committee on policy and legislative issues since 2011.
According to news reports, under Democratic leadership, the CFTC is poised to shift its focus away from the Trump administration’s business-friendly policies and crack down on derivatives trading, a cash cow for Wall Street.
