The Commodity Futures Trading Commission proposed two new rules, Regulation CTX and Regulation CAM, to govern leveraged and margined crypto trading. The move follows the Senate's failure to pass the Clarity Act, but a gap remains: the agency still cannot require spot exchanges to register under federal oversight.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission proposed a pair of rules on Monday to bring crypto trading that uses leverage, margin or financing under federal oversight. Chairman Mike Selig unveiled the proposals in remarks prepared for Fordham Law's annual Blockchain Regulatory Symposium.
Two rules, one registration path
Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions (CTX) and Regulation Crypto Asset Markets (CAM) would create a new category of CFTC-registered exchanges called crypto asset markets, narrower than the existing designated contract market status. Platforms that choose to register could then offer retail customers margined, leveraged or financed crypto trading.
Under Regulation CTX, futures commission merchants would have to act as intermediaries, pulling Bank Secrecy Act money-laundering safeguards into the activity. The agency's "actual delivery" exemption would still spare transactions that involve real exchange of the asset in less than 28 days.
Spot trading still sits outside federal reach
Selig said the CFTC lacks the authority to force spot crypto platforms into the new framework without action from Congress, following the Senate's failure to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act last month. According to Crypto Briefing: "Today’s action is just the beginning," Selig said.
He pointed to the collapse of FTX, noting that while most of its offshore and state-regulated units entered bankruptcy, customer property held through its CFTC-registered subsidiary remained segregated and secure. The agency says the proposals will open for a 60-day public comment period.
Selig acts alone as nominees stay pending
Both the CFTC and the SEC are currently run by a single Republican each, since President Trump has not yet named nominees to fill either five-member commission. Selig has been the CFTC's sole commissioner for nearly a year.
The SEC has already moved on its own crypto agenda, including one late last week on how investment firms should maintain custody of crypto assets. Earlier this year, the two agencies jointly issued a token taxonomy defining which crypto assets count as securities, work this week's proposals now extend to the derivatives side of the CFTC's jurisdiction. The spot market gap, for now, stays with Congress.
Sources: CoinDesk, Crypto Briefing
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