Former CFTC Chair Says Crypto Needs Durable Rules After Clarity Act Stall, With Prediction Market Limits Possibly Headed to the Supreme Court

Former Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Rostin Behnam said U.S. lawmakers need to draw a clearer line between risk management and gambling as prediction markets expand rapidly. Speaking in an interview with Crypto In America on Sept. 29, Behnam said litigation over that boundary could eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court. He also argued that the regulatory framework for crypto remains inadequate after the Clarity Act failed to advance in the Senate. In his description, the CFTC is trying to oversee the spot market with its existing authority in a way that resembles fixing something with "duct tape and paper clips." Behnam said regulators need rules with more staying power rather than relying on limited powers that were not designed to fully cover the market. His remarks tied two issues together: the legal status of fast-growing prediction markets and the broader question of how U.S. agencies should supervise crypto spot trading when Congress has not delivered a more permanent structure.