Washington D.C. – Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Acting Chairman Caroline D. Pham announced a new initiative today aimed at regulating the trading of spot crypto asset contracts on CFTC-registered futures exchanges. This marks the first step in the CFTC’s “crypto sprint,” a program designed to implement recommendations from the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets report.
The initiative, unveiled August 4, 2025, seeks to clarify how spot crypto asset contracts can be listed on designated contract markets (DCMs) under the existing framework of the Commodity Exchange Act. The CFTC currently requires retail trading of leveraged commodities to occur on DCMs, and Pham believes this authority can be extended to spot crypto contracts.
“Under President Trump’s strong leadership and vision, the CFTC is full speed ahead on enabling immediate trading of digital assets at the Federal level in coordination with the SEC’s Project Crypto,” Pham stated. She envisions the United States becoming “the crypto capital of the world” through this regulatory approach.
The CFTC is soliciting feedback from all stakeholders regarding the listing of spot crypto asset contracts on DCMs. Specific areas of focus include section 2(c)(2)(D) of the Commodity Exchange Act, Part 40 of CFTC regulations, and potential implications under securities laws, particularly in relation to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) framework for non-security assets.
Interested parties are invited to submit written comments via the CFTC website by August 18, 2025. All submissions will be made publicly available on CFTC.gov. This move follows Pham’s previous proposals dating back to 2022 to bring greater regulatory clarity to the burgeoning crypto market.
While this announcement doesn’t detail specific penalties or financial amounts related to violations, it signals a proactive approach by the CFTC to assert its authority over the crypto asset space and establish a federal regulatory framework in coordination with the SEC.
Source: CFTC.gov
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