U.S. CFTC "Allows spot virtual asset trading on registered exchanges"

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) officially announced that it will allow trading of spot virtual asset (cryptocurrency) products in the U.S. federal regulated market.

Coraline D. Pham (Coraline D. Pham), Acting Chair of the CFTC, said on the 4th (local time), "Spot virtual asset listed products will be traded for the first time on CFTC-registered futures exchanges," adding, "This is a historic measure that gives U.S. investors options in a safe and regulated market."

Pham said, "Under President Trump's leadership, the United States has prepared an all-out strategy to reclaim the position of world leader in the digital asset market," and explained, "The recent offshore exchange incidents clearly showed the need for a regulated market within the United States."

She also strongly criticized the CFTC's previous regulatory approach. Pham said, "It remained a reactive regulation that sanctioned dangerous offshore exchanges," and "it failed to create 'clear rules' to provide a safe trading environment for U.S. investors," adding, "In particular, it is also problematic that the CFTC did not enforce for 15 years the provision strengthening regulation of retail leveraged products that Congress set after the 2008 financial crisis."

Meanwhile, the measure was prepared based on recommendations from the Presidential Working Group on Digital Asset Markets (PWG) and discussions led by the CFTC called the 'Crypto Sprint.' The Crypto Sprint includes ▲ the use of tokenized collateral (including stablecoins) in the derivatives market ▲ regulatory revisions to reflect blockchain-based payment·clearing infrastructure. Discussions on cooperation with the SEC were also conducted in parallel.