Rostin Behnam, the chair of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), has issued a stern warning to cryptocurrency firms, stating that regulators in the country will continue to intensify their crackdown on the industry as long as the market continues to attract interest from investors.

Speaking at the 2024 Global Conference on May 6th, Behnam acknowledged that while the crypto market experienced "bad events" in 2022, resulting in a significant downturn and forcing several companies to declare bankruptcy, the industry continues to grow and captivate the attention of investors and entrepreneurs alike. However, he refrained from specifying whether the CFTC or the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would spearhead the enforcement actions aimed at protecting investors from potential fraud and manipulation, as both regulators currently have ongoing lawsuits against numerous crypto firms.

"We're going to probably see in the next 6 to 18 months, or 6 to 24 months, another cycle of enforcement actions because of this cycle of asset appreciation and interest by retail investors," Behnam stated emphatically. He further elaborated, "Without a regulatory framework, without that transparency, without those tools that we typically use, as regulators, you're going to continue to see this fraud and manipulation."

Behnam's remarks echoed the sentiment expressed by a moderator at the conference, who agreed that having U.S. lawmakers bring crypto firms under a comprehensive regulatory framework is the appropriate course of action. Coincidentally, members of the House of Representatives are currently awaiting a floor vote on legislation that could potentially clarify the roles of the SEC and CFTC in overseeing digital assets. This legislation moved out of committee in July 2023, signaling progress towards establishing a clearer regulatory landscape for the crypto industry.

The CFTC chair's warning comes on the heels of a Cornerstone Research report released in January, which revealed that the number of crypto-related enforcement cases brought by the SEC in 2023 was the highest since 2013. The regulator currently has pending cases against several prominent U.S. crypto firms, including Kraken, Binance, and Coinbase. Moreover, on May 4th, the SEC issued a Wells notice – typically a precursor to an enforcement action – to Robinhood Crypto, further underscoring the intensifying regulatory scrutiny faced by the industry.

Behnam's remarks are not without precedent; in October, he disclosed that approximately one-third of all enforcement actions taken by the CFTC against crypto firms occurred in 2023 alone. Additionally, the CFTC reported in November that it