Washington, D.C. — The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has issued an Order of Reinstatement to TeraExchange, LLC restoring its registration status as a Swap Execution Facility (SEF). The order, effective today, was issued in accordance with Section 5 of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC Regulations 37.3(b) and 37.3(d).

TeraExchange, which originally obtained its SEF registration from the CFTC in 2016, is a Delaware corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tera Group, Inc. In July 2019, the CFTC deemed the exchange dormant under Part 40 of CFTC regulations because it had no trading for 36 consecutive months since its original Commission order of registration.

SEFs are trading facilities that operate under the CFTC’s regulatory oversight for trading and processing swaps. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 authorized the creation of SEFs to provide greater pre-trade and post-trade transparency to the swaps market.

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Maybe you’ve seen the commercials on TV, videos on the Internet, or received something in the mail. They predict economic instability and use graphs of past performance to “prove” gold, silver, or some other precious metal is not only your safest bet but is destined to double or triple in value.

The truth is gold and other precious metals are highly volatile and past performance is not a good predictor of future returns. If sales pitches also include a lot of doom-and-gloom or high-pressure sales tactics, they could be setting you up for fraud.

The mission of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (“CFTC”) is to promote the integrity, resilience, and vibrancy of the U.S. derivatives markets through sound regulation. As part of this mission, the CFTC regulates a variety of individuals and organizations. These include futures commission merchants, commodity pool operators, commodity trading advisors, retail foreign exchange dealers, introducing brokers, designated contract markets, foreign boards of trade, swap dealers, and other entities and individuals. To promote market integrity, the CFTC surveils the derivatives markets for various abuses, and holds wrongdoers accountable.

Increasingly, fraudsters use a variety of social engineering, fake profiling, and manipulative techniques to ensnare their victims. Fraud tactics regularly employ common keywords and phrases. With this information, there is an opportunity to utilize modern technology as a tool to augment traditional, manual efforts and to identify bad...

Empower Innovation 2020, a three-part series of interactive virtual events designed to facilitate a dialogue among innovators, regulators, market participants, and the public around cutting-edge fintech innovation.

CFTC will host each of these events virtually, using the Whova event management platform. Attendees are encouraged to register to engage as part of this virtual experience with speakers and panelists, including live polling, surveys, and Q&A during sessions. CFTC will also provide a view-only, webcast on the day of the event for attendees who would like to listen in on session discussions of the day.

The mission of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (“CFTC”) is to promote the integrity, resilience, and vibrancy of the U.S. derivatives markets through sound regulation. As part of this mission, the CFTC regulates a variety of individuals and organizations. These include futures commission merchants, commodity pool operators, commodity trading advisors, retail foreign exchange dealers, introducing brokers, designated contract markets, foreign boards of trade, swap dealers, and other entities and individuals. To promote market integrity, the CFTC surveils the derivatives markets for various abuses, and holds wrongdoers accountable.

Increasingly, fraudsters use a variety of social engineering, fake profiling, and manipulative techniques to ensnare their victims. Fraud tactics regularly employ common keywords and phrases. With this information, there is an opportunity to utilize modern technology as a tool to augment traditional, manual efforts and to identify bad...

Empower Innovation 2020, a three-part series of interactive virtual events designed to facilitate a dialogue among innovators, regulators, market participants, and the public around cutting-edge fintech innovation.

CFTC will host each of these events virtually, using the Whova event management platform. Attendees are encouraged to register to engage as part of this virtual experience with speakers and panelists, including live polling, surveys, and Q&A during sessions. CFTC will also provide a view-only, webcast on the day of the event for attendees who would like to listen in on session discussions of the day.

The Registration Deficient List, also called the RED List, contains names of foreign entities that appear to be acting in a capacity that requires registration with the CFTC, but they are NOT registered with the CFTC.

The inclusion of an entity’s name on the RED List does not mean that the CFTC or a court has concluded that a violation of any provision of the Commodity Exchange Act or the Commission’s Regulations has occurred. However, you should be cautious of unregistered firms or individuals when participating in products or markets that historically have seen a large number of fraud complaints — these include binary options, forex, digital currencies, commodity pools, and precious metals.

Check the list before you trade.

 

Computer programs that signal when to buy and sell commodity futures and options contracts Signals are based on mathematical formulas and are typically technical analyses of trading data, such as trading volume and prices Signals are not based upon fundamental analyses of economic factors, such as supply and demand Technical analysis attempts to predict future price movements based on historical prices, price relationships and price trends

Computer programs that signal when to buy and sell commodity futures and options contracts Signals are based on mathematical formulas and are typically technical analyses of trading data, such as trading volume and prices Signals are not based upon fundamental analyses of economic factors, such as supply and demand Technical analysis attempts to predict future price movements based on historical prices, price relationships and price trends

The Registration Deficient List, also called the RED List, contains names of foreign entities that appear to be acting in a capacity that requires registration with the CFTC, but they are NOT registered with the CFTC.

The inclusion of an entity’s name on the RED List does not mean that the CFTC or a court has concluded that a violation of any provision of the Commodity Exchange Act or the Commission’s Regulations has occurred. However, you should be cautious of unregistered firms or individuals when participating in products or markets that historically have seen a large number of fraud complaints — these include binary options, forex, digital currencies, commodity pools, and precious metals.

Check the list before you trade.

 

The mission of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (“CFTC”) is to promote the integrity, resilience, and vibrancy of the U.S. derivatives markets through sound regulation. As part of this mission, the CFTC regulates a variety of individuals and organizations. These include futures commission merchants, commodity pool operators, commodity trading advisors, retail foreign exchange dealers, introducing brokers, designated contract markets, foreign boards of trade, swap dealers, and other entities and individuals. To promote market integrity, the CFTC surveils the derivatives markets for various abuses, and holds wrongdoers accountable.

Increasingly, fraudsters use a variety of social engineering, fake profiling, and manipulative techniques to ensnare their victims. Fraud tactics regularly employ common keywords and phrases. With this information, there is an opportunity to utilize modern technology as a tool to augment traditional, manual efforts and to identify bad...

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission advises the public not to take cash from their retirement plans under relaxed distribution rules provided in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) to speculate or invest in gold, silver, or other precious metals without first consulting licensed or registered financial, tax, or legal advisors.

Washington, D.C. — The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced that LabCFTC will present Empower Innovation 2020, a series of interactive virtual events throughout the fall. The three-part series will facilitate a dialogue among innovators, regulators, market participants, and the public around cutting-edge fintech innovation. In light of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, the Empower Innovation 2020 series will be held in lieu of the 2020 Fintech Forward conference.

LabCFTC will also announce the winner of Project Streetlamp, the competition LabCFTC launched in April under the Science Prize Competition Act, at the November Empower Innovation 2020 event. [See CFTC Press Release No. 8154-20]

“Encouraging innovation and enhancing the regulatory experience for market participants is essential to what we do at the CFTC,” said CFTC Chairman Heath P. Tarbert. “As our markets adapt in the wake of COVID-19, so too must we innovate and adapt. I am...

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission advises the public not to take cash from their retirement plans under relaxed distribution rules provided in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) to speculate or invest in gold, silver, or other precious metals without first consulting licensed or registered financial, tax, or legal advisors.

Lowell Enlow was a contractor for NASA and later operated several insurance agencies throughout Florida. Nick Morrison is a store manager in Central Illinois. Despite their years of investing and financial experience, both men were victims of a sophisticated online fraud.

They thought they were investing in a highly liquid options market that offered quick returns with a low cost of entry. Instead, they were lured into an unregistered binary options trading platform run by an off-shore operation. They’re sharing their stories so you can see just how difficult it can be to recognize binary options fraud, when it’s happening right before your eyes.

Traders use binary options to hedge against unforeseen circumstances, such as weather events. Unlike other options, there are no strike prices and traders don’t get the choice to exercise the option. Instead, they take a position on a specific market event to occur at a specific time. If the event happens as predicted,...

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission advises the public not to take cash from their retirement plans under relaxed distribution rules provided in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) to speculate or invest in gold, silver, or other precious metals without first consulting licensed or registered financial, tax, or legal advisors.

Washington, D.C. — The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced that the Honorable Vernon S. Broderick of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a consent order resolving CFTC charges against the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and former employees William Byrnes and Christopher Curtin for the employees’ repeated disclosure of material non-public information in violation of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations.

The order finds Byrnes and Curtin directly liable for their improper disclosures and NYMEX vicariously liable for the misconduct of its former employees. In addition, Byrnes and Curtin are permanently banned from trading commodity interests and registering with the CFTC and are enjoined from future violations of the CEA and CFTC regulations, as charged. The order also enjoins NYMEX to the extent the CEA and CFTC regulations apply under the vicarious liability provision of the CEA. In addition, the...

The mission of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (“CFTC”) is to promote the integrity, resilience, and vibrancy of the U.S. derivatives markets through sound regulation. As part of this mission, the CFTC regulates a variety of individuals and organizations. These include futures commission merchants, commodity pool operators, commodity trading advisors, retail foreign exchange dealers, introducing brokers, designated contract markets, foreign boards of trade, swap dealers, and other entities and individuals. To promote market integrity, the CFTC surveils the derivatives markets for various abuses, and holds wrongdoers accountable.

Increasingly, fraudsters use a variety of social engineering, fake profiling, and manipulative techniques to ensnare their victims. Fraud tactics regularly employ common keywords and phrases. With this information, there is an opportunity to utilize modern technology as a tool to augment traditional, manual efforts and to identify bad...

Washington, D.C. — The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced that LabCFTC will present Empower Innovation 2020, a series of interactive virtual events throughout the fall. The three-part series will facilitate a dialogue among innovators, regulators, market participants, and the public around cutting-edge fintech innovation. In light of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, the Empower Innovation 2020 series will be held in lieu of the 2020 Fintech Forward conference.

LabCFTC will also announce the winner of Project Streetlamp, the competition LabCFTC launched in April under the Science Prize Competition Act, at the November Empower Innovation 2020 event. [See CFTC Press Release No. 8154-20]

“Encouraging innovation and enhancing the regulatory experience for market participants is essential to what we do at the CFTC,” said CFTC Chairman Heath P. Tarbert. “As our markets adapt in the wake of COVID-19, so too must we innovate and adapt. I am...

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission advises the public not to take cash from their retirement plans under relaxed distribution rules provided in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) to speculate or invest in gold, silver, or other precious metals without first consulting licensed or registered financial, tax, or legal advisors.