U.S. regulators propose allowing crypto trading on all licensed futures exchanges

U.S. regulators propose allowing crypto trading on all licensed futures exchanges

U.S. authorities are moving toward enabling crypto trading across all officially registered futures exchanges, following guidance from the 

Digital Assets Working Group, which was established under President Donald Trump.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is spearheading an initiative to authorize the listing of contracts for purchasing digital assets at prices determined by spot markets. In practice, these derivatives would allow traders to gain exposure to cryptocurrencies through regulated mechanisms.

CFTC Commissioner Caroline Pham stated:

“CFTC is moving quickly to launch digital asset trading at the federal level and coordinate it with the SEC’s crypto asset project. There is a clear and simple solution that the CFTC can implement right now,” Pham said.

The proposed use of purchase contracts stems from the CFTC’s regulatory authority over derivatives markets. Since digital assets are typically categorized as commodities or securities, structuring them as futures-like contracts would give the commission the necessary jurisdiction to oversee their trading on compliant exchanges.

The Working Group submitted 18 key recommendations to the CFTC, which include calls to clarify the commodity status of specific digital assets, establish rulebooks for companies dealing in crypto, and modernize financial regulations to cover blockchain-based derivatives.