The new Director faces many big challenges including rules to regulate security-based swaps and security-based swap dealers, a long-awaited revisit of Regulation NMS, and the re-examination of Regulation SHO.

The MSRB is clearly signaling rule amendments that are likely to be proposed soon. Market participants should be prepared to consider and comment on the proposals. In this regard, market participants should consider what effect any proposals are likely to have on the market and to consider how to evidence any potential concerns.

The division of authority between the CFTC and the SEC can be quite complex. That said, the CFTC is absolute correct in noting the fact that "virtual currency" or an "ICO" may be both (i) a "commodity" for purposes of the Commodity Exchange Act and (ii) a "security" for purposes of the securities laws. The primer also correctly acknowledges that the CFTC does not have authority over ordinary cash-market transactions in a commodity, but only in derivative or certain financing transaction…

In the dispute between the banking regulators and the CFTC over the SLR, the CFTC has the better view. The very existence of the dispute, as well as its severity and the length of time it has continued, should give pause to those who believe that the "government" inherently knows best how to control risk. The reality is, no one knows for certain, and there is no absolute correct answer. (Notably, this dispute is not a matter of Republicans vs. Democrats; the former Democratic CFTC…