CFTC submits crypto market regulation plan for White House review
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission submitted a new regulatory action titled “Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions and Regulation Crypto Asset Markets” to the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on Sept. 17, entering the early “prerule” phase. The filing arrives days after the Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act and as U.S. regulators signal they will proceed with rulemaking under existing authorities.
Why It Matters
With federal crypto legislation stalled in the Senate, the CFTC’s prerule filing signals the agency intends to use its current statutory powers to shape oversight of digital-asset markets — a move that could materially affect how leveraged and margined crypto trading is regulated. The filing also follows parallel, immediate actions by both the CFTC and SEC to provide short-term guidance for certain crypto market activities.
Key Facts
- Agency: U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
- Action title: "Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions and Regulation Crypto Asset Markets"
- Filed with: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA)
- Received date: Sept. 17
- Rule stage: Prerule (early stage; not formally proposed)
The CFTC submitted a regulatory action named “Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions and Regulation Crypto Asset Markets” to the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on Sept. 17, according to a public filing. The item is listed at the prerule stage, indicating the agency is in an early phase of rulemaking and has not yet released a formal proposed rule or detailed text.
The filing comes shortly after the Senate on Sept. 15 failed to advance the CLARITY Act, legislation intended to create a federal framework for digital-asset markets. In public statements following the Senate vote, CFTC Chair Michael Selig said the agency was “locked in and ready to ship” rules under its existing authority, while former SEC Chair Paul Atkins (as cited in the source) similarly indicated the securities regulator would act with or without new legislation.
Both regulators took immediate steps the day after the vote. The CFTC issued a no-action position covering providers of passive software, and the Securities and Exchange Commission announced temporary exemptions for certain platforms enabling onchain trading of tokenized securities. Those measures are presented by the agencies as short-term responses while broader rulemaking is explored.
CFTC officials had already been preparing for a possible rulemaking path without new congressional language. In remarks at an Aug. 20 CFTC Innovation Advisory Committee conference, Chair Selig said staff were exploring rules that could permit existing registrants and currently unregistered crypto exchanges to be designated as a type of contract market — described in the filing as a potential “crypto asset market” — which could bring leveraged or margined crypto trading under CFTC oversight. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong also said in a Sept. 15 post that he expected regulators to proceed using existing tools.
The OIRA filing does not include the substance of the proposed regulations, so specifics about scope, definitions, or compliance requirements remain undisclosed. The submission does, however, mark a formal step in the federal administrative process and signals the CFTC’s intent to advance regulatory controls for crypto markets independently of pending legislation.
Keep Reading
Bitcoin cycle bottom may already be in at $58K, says analyst James Check
Binance brushes off Lagarde MiCA speculation, reaffirms Europe commitment
Stablecoin payments firm dtcpay closes $25M round with SBI backing
