CFTC files new rulemaking to regulate crypto transactions and markets

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission isn’t waiting around for Congress anymore. On September 17, the agency submitted a proposed rulemaking titled “Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions and Regulation Crypto Asset Markets” to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, signaling its intent to build a crypto regulatory framework on its own terms.

The timing is not coincidental. Two days earlier, the Senate blocked the CLARITY Act, the legislative attempt to establish a comprehensive digital asset regulatory structure, by a razor-thin 49-50 procedural vote. With the legislative path closed, at least for now, the CFTC decided to use the authority it already has.

What the CFTC is proposing

The core of the proposal revolves around creating a designated contract market framework specifically tailored for crypto assets. The CFTC appears to want something similar for crypto, potentially encompassing both registered and some non-registered exchanges for leveraged trading.

CFTC Chair Michael S. Selig laid the groundwork for this in August when he directed staff to explore rules around crypto market structure. That earlier push included guidance on prediction markets and no-action relief for software providers that connect users to regulated exchanges. The September filing is a natural escalation of that initiative.

The proposal could open the door for leveraged and margined crypto trading on these designated markets.

No actual text of the proposed rules has been made public yet. The submission to OIRA is a procedural step, essentially the agency asking the White House’s regulatory review office to greenlight the rulemaking process. The substance of the rules, the specific compliance requirements, reporting standards, and operational mandates, will emerge during the formal notice-and-comment period that follows.

Why Congress failed and the CFTC stepped in

The CLARITY Act was supposed to be the answer. It aimed to draw clear jurisdictional lines between the CFTC and the SEC over digital assets. But the Senate couldn’t get it across the finish line.

A 49-50 vote means the bill fell short by the narrowest possible margin.

The CFTC has been quietly building its crypto credibility throughout 2026. The August innovation agenda included concrete actions like providing guidance for prediction markets and carving out regulatory space for software providers that serve as intermediaries between users and exchanges.

What this means for the market

For exchanges operating in the US, a clear DCM framework for crypto would give platforms a regulatory pathway to offer products they’ve been hesitant to launch, particularly leveraged trading instruments.

There’s also the jurisdictional question that never quite goes away. The SEC has not signaled any intention to cede ground on which digital assets fall under securities law. A CFTC rulemaking that touches assets the SEC considers securities could reignite the inter-agency conflict that the CLARITY Act was designed to resolve.

Software providers that connect users to regulated exchanges are another group watching closely. The CFTC’s earlier no-action relief gave these intermediaries some breathing room, but a formal rulemaking could either codify that flexibility or impose new obligations.

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