CFTC Moves on Crypto Regulation Without Congress After CLARITY Act Fails

US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair Michael Selig announced on Monday that the agency will move forward on crypto regulation with or without legislation from Congress, delivering on President Donald Trump's promise to establish a comprehensive market structure for digital assets. Speaking at the Fordham Law Blockchain Regulatory Symposium, Selig revealed the CFTC had issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking for companies offering retail customers the ability to trade crypto assets on a margined, leveraged, or financed basis under a new designation called 'CTX.'

The proposed framework includes establishing a new category of designated contract market (DCM) known as a 'crypto asset market,' or CAM, which would give certain crypto exchanges the option to register under CFTC oversight rather than navigating the patchwork of state-level regulations. Selig said these rules would codify a pathway for crypto asset exchanges to operate under uniform national oversight using the same statutory authorities the prior administration used to regulate by enforcement. Ordinary spot crypto exchanges generally regulated under state money transmission laws would not be affected, though the CFTC would retain anti-fraud and anti-manipulation enforcement authority over spot trading in assets like Bitcoin (BTC).

The CFTC's proposal follows the US Senate's failure to pass the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act, a bill that would have granted the agency expanded authority over crypto oversight and enforcement. The Securities and Exchange Commission had already moved in a similar direction, unveiling its own proposed 'tailored securities offering regime' for crypto assets in August, signaling that both regulators intend to advance crypto rules independently of congressional action.

Selig emphasized that the CFTC is using its existing statutory authorities to deliver the regulatory framework Trump has championed, framing the agency's push as a direct response to legislative gridlock in Washington. The proposed rules represent a significant step toward federalizing crypto market oversight in the United States, potentially reshaping how exchanges, brokers, and trading platforms interact with regulators going forward.