The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is launching a financial technology (fintech) lab in a bid to modernize its approach to regulation.
The lab aims to foster “responsible innovation” among fintech innovators. With this platform, the CFTC says it can also serve as a source of information that may help inform policy development.
“LabCFTC is intended to help us bridge the gap from where we are today to where we need to be: 21st century regulation for today’s digital markets,” says J. Christopher Giancarlo, acting chairman of the CFTC, in a statement.
As part of its program, the CFTC will debut CFTC 2.0, an initiative that will help staff adopt to new technology into their workflow and open the door for collaboration with other fintech firms and market participants.
Financial regulators worldwide have been wading into the fintech space in recent months. In late April, the Autorité des marchés financiersjoined the Ontario Securities Commission and the Canadian Securities Administrators in creating its own incubator for testing emerging solutions as the market shifts to a digital economy.
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