The chairman of the US Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has spoken out about his desire for the USA to lead the world in blockchain technology, and also how his agency has worked to integrate staff that have experience with blockchain and crypto technology. He stated on a podcast that, “Really where I stand is I want to see the United States lead in blockchain technology. For me, it’s not necessarily something that the government needs to be involved with directly. But there could be benefits to that as well. But I really want to see the US continue to support innovation in this space. Because I do see other countries coming in and starting to potentially take the lead.”
The USA is lagging behind many nations in the blockchain space. The words from the CFTC chairman may be in response to recent comments from Ripple that it may move its operations to Singapore, due to ongoing regulatory issues that it faces in the USA. Unlike a stock, Ripple's XRP tokens fall into a legal gray area that hasn't been resolved by US regulators. As tokens have become more mainstream, the regulatory framework that the US uses has shown itself to be a hindrance for blockchain and crypto companies that work in the USA, and mere words from the CFTC do nothing to change the actual legal situation.