SEC and CFTC to coordinate crypto efforts
“This joint statement provides the Divisions’ view that current law does not prohibit SEC- or CFTC-registered exchanges from facilitating trading of these spot crypto asset products,” per the statement
Mark Van Scyoc/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced a cross-agency initiative on Tuesday, carried out in furtherance of the SEC’s Project Crypto and the CFTC’s Crypto Sprint.
The effort stems from the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets report, Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology, which urged the two agencies to coordinate oversight in order to promote regulatory clarity and keep blockchain innovation within the United States.
As part of this mandate, the SEC and CFTC divisions said they will issue guidance on the listing of leveraged, margined or financed spot retail commodity transactions involving digital assets.
According to the joint statement, the divisions will work together to provide regulatory clarity while reducing jurisdictional overlap. The statement emphasized that current law does not prohibit SEC- or CFTC-registered exchanges from facilitating trading of certain spot crypto asset products, and invited market participants to engage directly with staff through filings, registrations or requests for relief.
The coordination builds on prior guidance, including the SEC’s digital asset framework and the CFTC’s market advisories, but differs by focusing on harmonization of regulatory approaches rather than enforcement actions alone. The statement also highlighted clearing and settlement, market surveillance, and public dissemination of trading data as priorities for joint attention.
The move comes after several years in which the SEC pursued high-profile enforcement cases against platforms such as Coinbase and Binance. By working jointly, the agencies signaled a desire to provide clearer compliance pathways.
In recent weeks, Blockworks has covered how lawmakers are weighing broader frameworks, including a Senate market structure bill and ongoing investor hopes for clear regulatory orders, placing this joint initiative within a wider context of pending US reforms.
This is a developing story.
This article was generated with the assistance of AI and reviewed by editor Jeffrey Albus before publication.
Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:
- The Breakdown: Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily.
- 0xResearch: Alpha in your inbox. Think like an analyst.
