Rostin Behnam is an American lawyer and government official who currently serves as Chairman of the

Commodity Futures Trading Commission The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is an independent agency of the US government created in 1974 that regulates the U.S. derivatives markets, which includes futures, swaps, and certain kinds of options. The Commodity Exchange Act ...

Early career

Behnam worked as a proprietary equities trader in New York City before earning his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

degree at Syracuse University. After graduation, he worked for the New Jersey Bureau of Securities, then practiced law in New York City.

Government service

Behnam was senior counsel to Democratic Senator

Debbie Stabenow Deborah Ann Stabenow ( ; née Greer, born April 29, 1950) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Michigan, a seat she has held since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, she became the state's first female ...

. In August 2017, he was nominated as a commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission by President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...

. On January 21, 2021, Behnam assumed the role of Acting Chairman following President Joe Biden's inauguration. His term expired on April 13, 2021. He was re-nominated for a new term through June 19, 2026, and was confirmed on December 15, 2021. President Biden nominated him as permanent chairman and he was confirmed by the Senate the same day. At the time of his appointment, Behnam was expected to increase regulation of the Wall Street

derivatives market The derivatives market is the financial market for derivatives, financial instruments like futures contracts or options, which are derived from other forms of assets. The market can be divided into two, that for exchange-traded derivatives a ...

Stance on cryptocurrency and FTX

In October 2022, Behnam said he was "impressed" by cryptocurrency exchange

FTX FTX Trading Ltd., commonly known as FTX (short for "Futures Exchange") is a bankrupt company that formerly operated a cryptocurrency exchange and crypto hedge fund. The exchange was founded in 2019 and, at its peak in July 2021, had over one mi ...

's application to allow its U.S. operation, FTX.US, to clear customers’ margin-backed derivatives trades without intermediaries.

Personal life

Behnam was raised in New Jersey. He currently lives in Baltimore with his wife and three children.

References

21st-century American lawyers Biden administration personnel Commodity Futures Trading Commission personnel Georgetown University alumni Living people New Jersey Democrats Syracuse University College of Law alumni Trump administration personnel Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-gov-bio-stub