Christopher Giancarlo, acting chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, announced an innovation lab this month designed to further the future of fintech. The initiative, which draws on the idea of giving fintech companies in the commodities and derivatives markets greater access to the commission, is intended to bring “21st century regulation for today's capital markets.” But in a speech delivered May 17, Giancarlo stopped short of referring to the initiative, LabCFTC, as a regulatory sandbox — an environment in which companies can test new products and business models without worrying about regulatory consequences — because so far there is no intention of providing any regulatory relief for participating companies.

The announcement of LabCFTC, along with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's proposed fintech charter, released in March, show that regulators are looking for ways to support the industry. But all of these developments combined beg the question: Will the U.S. at any point introduce a regulatory sandbox like those seen in the United Kingdom or Singapore? While many fintechs, particularly early stage startups, would likely welcome the regulatory exemptions sandboxes provide while developing their products, many lawyers in the industry are skeptical that a sandbox will happen in the U.S. because it has some unique challenges working against it.

Unlike in the U.K., which is highly regarded as a leader within the fintech industry, the greatest challenge for a sandbox in the U.S. is that there is more than one regulatory body for financial services, according to attorneys who work in fintech. In the U.K., the Financial Conduct Authority is the primary agency to oversee financial services, so it's a fairly straightforward process to operate the sandbox under one regulatory regime.