Really thoughtful and timely piece. The idea of merging the SEC and CFTC might sound efficient on paper, but in practice, it would weaken oversight and create a bloated bureaucracy that does more harm than good. These agencies were designed for very different purposes, and combining them would risk leaving key markets under-regulated—especially at a time when derivatives and digital assets need more attention, not less. The point about fixing the CFTC’s funding structure is spot on. Why aren’t we focusing on giving regulators the resources they need instead of tearing them down?
What would it take to get bipartisan momentum behind modernizing how we fund critical oversight agencies like the CFTC?
If having a separate commodities regulator from the securities regulator is such a great idea, why have no other countries done that? Every other major market combines the regulation of futures with securities. The reason we have a separate regulator is that in the early 1970s when Congress was debating what to do about futures, SEC Chairman Ray Garrett actively lobbied Congress NOT to give him authority over futures because he didn't want the job of cleaning up the futures pits in Chicago.
Really thoughtful and timely piece. The idea of merging the SEC and CFTC might sound efficient on paper, but in practice, it would weaken oversight and create a bloated bureaucracy that does more harm than good. These agencies were designed for very different purposes, and combining them would risk leaving key markets under-regulated—especially at a time when derivatives and digital assets need more attention, not less. The point about fixing the CFTC’s funding structure is spot on. Why aren’t we focusing on giving regulators the resources they need instead of tearing them down?
What would it take to get bipartisan momentum behind modernizing how we fund critical oversight agencies like the CFTC?
If having a separate commodities regulator from the securities regulator is such a great idea, why have no other countries done that? Every other major market combines the regulation of futures with securities. The reason we have a separate regulator is that in the early 1970s when Congress was debating what to do about futures, SEC Chairman Ray Garrett actively lobbied Congress NOT to give him authority over futures because he didn't want the job of cleaning up the futures pits in Chicago.