CFTC proposes rules letting US crypto exchanges opt into federal regime

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has proposed new rules to regulate digital asset transactions and markets, saying the measure would allow US crypto exchanges to opt into a federal regulatory regime. In a Monday release, the agency said exchanges offering leveraged trades would be able to register with the regulator if the rules are approved.

“Today’s action is a critical step in the CFTC’s ongoing efforts to ensure America remains the crypto capital of the world,” chairman Mike Selig said in the release. He added that the announcement begins a process of rulemakings grounded in the CEA’s purpose and in President Donald Trump’s directive to propose a federal market structure for crypto assets using the CFTC’s existing statutory authorities. Mr Selig, formerly chief counsel at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Crypto Task Force, said last month that the regulator was preparing for markets moving “24-7, on-chain”.

The proposal comes with the Clarity Act stalled. That bill wants to formally divide oversight between regulators and set out which digital assets are securities, commodities or stablecoins. It stalled and stumbled this year as the banking lobby raised issues over crypto companies paying customers stablecoin rewards, and some lawmakers, mostly Democrats, were concerned about the ethics of the legislation. Regulators are drafting rules the crypto industry has long called for regardless: the SEC, also led by a pro-crypto regulator, approved tokenised stocks trading in September after proposing its own framework for crypto asset offerings in August.

Trump campaigned on a ticket to help the digital asset industry and since taking office has signed pro-crypto legislation and executive orders. In August he urged lawmakers to get the Clarity Act over the line, calling the proposed legislation “very powerful”.

The CFTC’s preliminary rulemaking notice is open for public comment for 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register. The agency will then review the feedback and decide whether to issue a formal proposed rule, which would go through another comment period before any final rule is adopted.