Forbes - ⚡ Power struggles

Just the tip: Rostin Behnam, the CFTC’s acting chairman who was speaking before the Senate Agriculture Committee as part of his confirmation hearing to serve a full term as chairman of the agency, said that the agency has settled two enforcement actions against cryptocurrency companies totaling $140 million. "But this is the tip of the iceberg," he said, pointing to pointing to the agency’s recent settlements with crypto exchange Kraken and stablecoin issuer Tether.

"Given the size, the scope and the scale of this emerging market, how its interfacing and affecting customers, retail customers, and then with the scale of the growth being so rapid, potential financial stability risks in the future, I think it’s critically important to have a primary cop on the beat and certainly the CFTC is prepared to do that if this committee so wishes," Behnam said in comments reported by Coindesk.

Turf war: SEC chair Gary Gensler has argued the SEC should be the main U.S. crypto cop, with the decision likely hinging on how cryptocurrencies and digital assets are defined—as securities, currencies or something new. Major crypto exchange Coinbase has called for a new, crypto-focused regulator to oversee the burgeoning industry.

In other regulatory developments... The SEC will not approve the listing of leveraged bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), it was last night reported by the Wall Street Journal. The SEC instructed at least one prospective ETF provider not to proceed with their plans for a leveraged funds, according to the Journal, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg has reported crypto firms that offer stablecoins, blockchain-based decentralized finance (DeFi) apps and services supporting peer-to-peer transactions may need to increase the how much information they hold on users to preventing money laundering and terrorism financing. The anti-money-laundering group Financial Action Task Force called for increased disclosure and oversight of the crypto ecosystem.

Good to know: Canada seen as model for how Australia crypto ETFs could develop

🐦 "It was a long wait, but worth it," Bukele tweeted. "We just bought the dip!" The bitcoin price has climbed in the hours since.

📱 In September, El Salvador became the first country in the world to adopt bitcoin as legal tender alongside the U.S. dollar. Bukele claims bitcoin will lower the cost of remittances and has launched a bitcoin wallet loaded with free coins for citizens.

Now read this: Singapore sees place for cryptocurrencies such as Stablecoins,