7 U.S.C. § 5 — Findings and purpose

(a) Findings. Congress finds that the trades covered by this chapter — trading commodities in the futures markets — happen regularly in interstate and international commerce. These trades matter to the whole country because they let people manage and take on price risks, discover fair prices, and spread pricing information, all through trading facilities that are liquid (easy to buy and sell in), fair, and financially secure. (b) Purpose. This chapter's purpose is to protect those same public interests, mainly through a system where trading facilities, clearing systems, market participants, and market professionals largely regulate themselves — with the Commission overseeing the whole system. To support that goal, this chapter also aims to stop price manipulation and other threats to market integrity; to keep every covered transaction financially sound and avoid risks that could spread through the whole system; to protect everyone in the market from fraud, abusive sales practices, and misuse of customer money or property; and to encourage responsible innovation and fair competition among boards of trade, other markets, and market participants.