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Special Address Of CFTC Commissioner J. Christopher Giancarlo Before The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation 2016 Blockchain Symposium - Regulators And The Blockchain: First, Do No Harm

Date 29/03/2016

Introduction

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for your warm welcome. It is a pleasure to be here with you today.

Before I begin, let me say that my remarks reflect my own views and do not necessarily constitute the views of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission), my fellow CFTC commissioners or the CFTC staff.

Two decades ago, as the Internet was entering a phase of rapid growth and expansion, a Republican Congress and the Clinton administration established a set of foundational principles: the Internet was to progress through human social interaction, voluntary contractual relations and free markets. Governments and regulators were not to harm the Internet’s continuing evolution. Because of this “do no harm” approach, the Internet created millions of jobs, transformed our economy forever and improved standards of living across the globe.

DTCC And Digital Asset To Develop Distributed Ledger Solution To Drive Improvements In Repo Clearing - Firms Sign Agreement To Develop Proof Of Concept To Improve The Current U.S. Repurchase Agreement Clearing Process

Date 29/03/2016

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), the premier post-trade market infrastructure for the global financial services industry, and Digital Asset Holdings (Digital Asset), a software company that builds distributed, encrypted straight through processing tools, today announced plans to develop and test a distributed ledger based solution to manage the clearing and settlement of U.S. Treasury, Agency, and Agency Mortgage-Backed repurchase agreement (repo) transactions. Repo agreements were selected for this proof of concept because there is an opportunity to streamline how these products are cleared, as repo transaction volumes continue to grow.

SIFMA Asset Management Group Recommends Improvements To The SEC Proposed Rule Regulating Fund Use Of Derivatives

Date 29/03/2016

SIFMA’s Asset Management Group (SIFMA AMG) today announced it has submitted a comment letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding the SEC’s proposed rule governing registered funds’ use of derivatives. SIFMA AMG’s letter supports the SEC’s regulatory goals, while expressing opposition to the proposed portfolio limits and recommending important changes to certain aspects of the proposed rule, including changes to the proposed portfolio limits and asset segregation requirements. 

SEC: Former TV Commentator Settles Penny Stock Fraud Charges

Date 29/03/2016

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that a former market analyst and TV news commentator has agreed to settle charges that he and his company fraudulently promoted a penny stock to investors.

Federal Reserve Engages In Effort To Assess Faster Payments Solutions

Date 29/03/2016

The Federal Reserve on Tuesday announced the selection of McKinsey & Company to support Faster Payments Task Force efforts this year to assess faster payments solution proposals from various providers across the United States payments industry.

Bats Global Markets To Acquire ETF.com, Broadening Content Offerings For Issuers, Brokers And ETF Investors - Transaction Expected To Close April 1st

Date 29/03/2016

Bats Global Markets, the leading exchange operator for the trading of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and creator of the Bats ETF Marketplace, signed a definitive agreement to acquire ETF.com, a leading provider of ETF data, news and analysis.

FIA Releases SEF Tracker For February 2016

Date 29/03/2016

Total trading volume on SEFs averaged $443.5 billion per day during the month of February. Although that was down 8.6% from the previous month, the decrease resulted entirely from a drop in the volume of forward rate agreements executed or processed through SEFs. All other categories of trading were up from the previous month.

FTC Approves Final Order In Oracle Java Security Case

Date 29/03/2016

After a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has approved a final order resolving the Commission’s complaint against Oracle alleging that the company deceived consumers about the security provided by updates to its Java Platform Standard Edition software.

MIAX Options Exchange: Opening And Intra-day Valid And Priority Quote Width Requirements For Market Makers

Date 29/03/2016

Please refer to MIAX Regulatory Circular 2016-12 for the current Opening and Intra-day Valid and Priority Quote Width Requirements for Market Makers.

REGIS-TR Enhances Services For Swiss Reporting Requirements

Date 29/03/2016

REGIS-TR, the European Trade Repository owned by Clearstream (Deutsche Börse) and Iberclear (BME), has developed services that support its customers in fulfilling their reporting requirements under the Swiss Financial Market infrastructure Act (FinfraG). This act regulates derivatives trading in Switzerland.