A new bill floating through Congress would give the CTFC new regulatory authority in derivatives and swap agreements that would effectively bring all commodity and ETNs under the CTFC’s jurisdiction. The bill was drawn up in the House Financial Services committee by Chairman Barney Frank.

The CTFC will have direct oversight in the derivatives market, which is now valued at $592 trillion. Bloomberg reports that the current language of the bill allows for the regulation of swap agreements in wheat and natural gas, and it would leave the door open to imposing position limits on non-exchange derivatives. Of the likely targets, the U.S. Natural Gas fund (UNG: Quote, Profile, Advanced Chart, News) and other large ETFs could be limited in their scope, with the government citing higher energy prices resulting from speculation.

The U.S. Natural Gas Fund had been courting investment banks overseas to escape current regulations, but the new 187-page bill would give the U.S. regulatory authority in international agreements as well.

Last year was the time of exchange-traded commodity funds, ranging from oil and gold to wheat, corn, and basic building metals. Just one year later, exchange-traded funds have grown tremendously to take a foothold in the actively-managed space.

Of the handful of firms entering the actively-managed scene, very few are expecting immediate success. Considering that actively managed ETFs lack the history of mutual funds, Ed McRedmond from ProShares told the Wall Street Journal that securing the attention of investors would require education about the inherent benefits of low fees and taxes associated with exchange-traded funds.

Another hurdle stands in the way of actively-managed ETFs gaining tremendous popularity. The SEC requires all funds to update their current positions each and every day, a situation that many stock-pickers dislike as it allows renegade traders to “front-run” the trades of the ETF. Mutual funds, in contrast, only report their holdings two to four times per year.

Investors’ appetite for commodities continues to grow as a hedge against government action to repair the ailing economy. Some investors are bracing for an inflation-led recovery by diversifying with the Powershares DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund ETF (DBC: Quote, Profile, Advanced Chart, News).

Reuters reports that after rising to nearly $21 per share, DBC options saw increased volume, with a strike price of $21 per share for a cost of $.80 per contract. Chris McKhann from OptionMonster.com commented that the change in price and volume is indicative of investor demand stemming from a newsletter service, as the majority of the transactions were “retail” trades.

The fund is nearly perfect for an inflation hedge, as it tracks the change in the prices of crude oil, heating oil, aluminum, gold, corn and wheat.