The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has proposed a crypto framework that leans on its existing statutory authority, stepping in to address market structure questions after Congress failed to advance the CLARITY Act.
CFTC Chair Michael Selig said the agency was using powers it already has to bring crypto assets within its regulatory perimeter, rather than waiting for legislation that has stalled repeatedly on Capitol Hill. The proposal covers spot crypto asset trading on CFTC-registered platforms and builds on earlier no-action relief the agency has granted to exchanges.
Regulators fill the gap left by Congress
The CLARITY Act was meant to be the definitive answer to a question the industry has debated for years: which agency gets to regulate which crypto assets. The bill slipped past multiple Senate deadlines before failing to advance, leaving spot markets in a patchwork of state rules and agency guidance.
The CFTC’s move changes the dynamic. By defining its perimeter through existing authority rather than new legislation, the agency is attempting to make the regulatory question moot – at least for the assets and platforms that fall under its remit. The SEC has been pursuing its own framework through rulemaking and exemptive orders, so the two agencies are now writing competing rulebooks in parallel.
What the framework covers
The proposal sets out how spot crypto trading on registered platforms would be supervised, including requirements around market surveillance, customer protections and disclosure. It follows a series of no-action letters and proposed rules the CFTC has issued over the past year as it expanded its role in digital asset markets.
Industry participants have broadly welcomed the clarity, with caveats. Several exchange operators have said they need time to map the new requirements against their existing compliance programs, and questions remain about how the framework interacts with state money transmitter regimes.
The bigger picture
The CFTC’s framework is a reminder that when Congress does not act, agencies will – and crypto market structure is no exception. The coming months will show whether two parallel rulebooks produce a coherent system or a compliance maze, but for now the industry has something it has lacked for a long time: regulators willing to define the rules in writing.
Related reading
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Source: Cointelegraph.
