Share this article
Sign Up
- Back to menuPrices
- Back to menuResearch
- Back to menu
- Back to menu
- Back to menu
- Back to menu
- Back to menuWebinars
CFTC’s Berkovitz to Become Top Lawyer at SEC
He will join former colleague Gary Gensler as the SEC’s general counsel in November.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has tapped Dan Berkovitz, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission commissioner who voiced his concerns about regulation of decentralized finance (DeFi), as the SEC’s new top lawyer.
Berkovitz will become general counsel on Nov. 15, replacing acting General Counsel John Coates, according to a press release. Berkovitz had previously announced his intention to leave the derivatives market regulator as of Oct. 1.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
The move places Berkovitz, who recently warned that many DeFi derivatives may violate federal law, in a key court-facing role at one of the U.S.’s top investment regulators. The Office of the General Counsel manages much of the SEC’s litigation and makes recommendations on enforcement actions, rule making and inter-agency activity.
That broad mandate could clash with crypto in any number of ways. The SEC’s top brass has adopted a hardline tone against bad actors in the crypto space, and Chair Gary Gensler has repeatedly emphasized consumer protection, prompting calls of overreach by many participants in the crypto space.
Berkovitz voiced a similar, pro-oversight tone toward crypto while at the CFTC:
“Blockchains, smart contracts, and other new technologies have the potential to improve the transparency and efficiency of our derivatives markets. However, for innovation to be responsible and competition to be fair, it must comply with the [Commodity Exchange Act] and our regulations,” he said when the CFTC fined BitMEX $100 million.
Gensler previously worked with Berkovitz during Gensler’s Obama-era tenure as the head of the CFTC.
Danny Nelson
Danny was CoinDesk's managing editor for Data & Tokens. He formerly ran investigations for the Tufts Daily. At CoinDesk, his beats include (but are not limited to): federal policy, regulation, securities law, exchanges, the Solana ecosystem, smart money doing dumb things, dumb money doing smart things and tungsten cubes. He owns BTC, ETH and SOL tokens, as well as the LinksDAO NFT.
More For You
Crypto Industry Asks President Trump to Stop JPMorgan’s 'Punitive Tax' on Data Access
A coalition of fintech and crypto trade groups is urging the White House to defend open banking and stop JPMorgan from charging fees to access customer data.
What to know:
- Ten major fintech and crypto trade associations have urged President Trump to stop big banks from imposing fees that could hinder innovation and competition.
- JPMorgan's plan to charge for access to consumer banking data may debank millions and threaten the adoption of stablecoins and self-custody wallets.
- The CFPB's open banking rule, which mandates free consumer access to bank data, is under threat as banks have sued to block it, and the CFPB has requested its vacatur.
