At a CFTC conference titled Fintech Forward, Chair Heath P. Tarbert stated that LabCFTC will now operate as an independent office of the agency. The move is intended to communicate the importance the CFTC places on fostering innovation and making the CFTC more accessible to innovators and the public.
As previously covered, LabCFTC was designed to (i) "promot[e] responsible FinTech innovation to improve the quality, resiliency, and competitiveness of the markets the CFTC oversees," (ii) address the regulatory challenges of increasingly automated trading and (iii) foster a regulatory environment more receptive to emerging FinTech companies.
At the conference, LabCFTC released a primer on emerging artificial intelligence ("AI") and FinTech innovations (the "Primer") for market participants. The Primer explains, among other things, (i) the definition of AI, (ii) how it relates to the CFTC and (iii) future developments for AI. The CFTC also underscored that CFTC registered entities that use AI remain responsible for compliance with all applicable requirements even if they use a third-party provider for that function.
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