Today, a press release from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) clearly outlined its intention to move forward with bringing clear rules for the crypto industry. The agency put forward its first proposed rules for the market and this comes a couple of weeks after the CLARITY Act failed to pass in the Senate in September.
Along with the press release, Chairman Michael Selig posted a video on his X account unveiling proposed rules to regulate US crypto markets. In an accompanying statement, Selig said Congress considered legislation to clarify how crypto is treated under federal law but never sent a bill to the president’s desk. His argument is that the CFTC already has the statutory authority to build a federal crypto market structure, and intends to use it.
He went onto say that the new rules are being put in place to “prevent, rather than only prosecute after the fact, fraudulent schemes such as FTX.”
CTX and CAM Would Put Crypto Exchanges Under One Federal Regime
The proposals were published as an advance notice of proposed rulemaking, an early stage where the agency outlines its plans and asks the public for feedback. The notice covers two rules.
The first, Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions (CTX), defines which crypto trades the CFTC thinks it should oversee. These are mainly trades where a retail customer borrows money or uses margin to buy crypto. A 2010 law already requires these leveraged trades to run through federally regulated exchanges, but the rules for doing so were never spelled out for crypto.
The second, Regulation Crypto Asset Markets (CAM), would create a new type of CFTC license built specifically for exchanges offering those trades.
Today, most US crypto exchanges operate under state licenses designed for payment companies, the same kind used by money transfer services. Some states add their own crypto licenses, such as New York’s BitLicense. The CFTC argues these rules were written for moving money, not running markets, so they do little to stop price manipulation or conflicts of interest. Selig pointed to FTX. Most of its offshore and state-licensed companies went bankrupt, but customer funds held by its CFTC-registered arm stayed protected.
Retail Margin Trading Gets a Federal Rulebook
Leveraged crypto trading for retail customers isn’t new to US regulated exchanges. The CFTC announced the first listings in December 2025. What’s been missing is a clear rulebook. The notice admits that confusion over how to comply held back efforts to move these trades onto federally regulated platforms.
Regular spot trading, where customers buy crypto outright without borrowing, isn’t covered. Exchanges that only offer that wouldn’t need to join.
On which coins count as commodities, the SEC and CFTC already gave an answer on March 17. Their joint classification labeled Bitcoin and Ether as digital commodities rather than securities, along with Solana, XRP, Stellar and Tezos, among others. The SEC followed on August 18 with a proposal setting out conditions under which tokens can trade freely without falling under securities law.
Agency Rules Only Go So Far
Selig said the announcement begins the agency’s process of new rulemakings. That route has limits. Law firm Orrick notes that agency rulemaking can’t deliver the broad state-law preemption CLARITY was designed to provide. AMINA Bank points out that a future commission can also withdraw rules that exist only at the agency level.
The comment window runs for 60 days once the notice appears in the Federal Register. If the CFTC moves ahead after that, it still has to issue formal proposed rules and then final ones, so exchanges won’t face binding requirements right away. The House, meanwhile, isn’t due back until after the November midterms.
If you’re reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter.
