A new federal registration route for crypto markets is taking shape in the US. The initiative targets leveraged retail activity and remains an early consultation, with no final rules adopted.
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission opened a consultation on October 5 on a dedicated framework for leveraged retail crypto trading. The two initiatives, Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions (CTX) and Regulation Crypto Asset Markets (CAM), would address how these transactions operate and create a tailored federal registration route for the exchanges offering them.
According to the agency’s official announcement, the process begins with an advance notice of proposed rulemaking. Written comments must arrive within 60 days of its publication in the Federal Register. That deadline runs from publication there, rather than automatically from the October 5 announcement.
No final rules have taken effect. The CFTC is gathering views to inform potential future rulemaking. This step does not automatically authorise any exchange to operate under the proposed framework.
View the CFTC’s October 5 CTX and CAM announcement on X
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Separating spot exchanges from leveraged trading
In an October 5 article republished by the agency, CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig said the commission lacks authority to require all crypto assets to trade on CFTC-registered platforms. Congress would need to act to impose that requirement.
“Today’s action is just the beginning.”
The federal route instead focuses on platforms that let retail customers trade on a margined, leveraged or financed basis. CTX refers to the transactions; CAM would be a new registration category for exchanges offering only those transactions. It is envisaged as a subcategory of the CFTC’s existing designated contract market, or DCM, framework.
The published text of Selig’s Fordham remarks explains that exchanges offering futures, options or swaps would remain under the existing DCM regime. Already registered DCMs could also offer CTXs under tailored requirements. Comparing crypto exchanges for US users requires checking which products each registration permits; the proposed CAM category would not replace authorisation for futures, options or swaps.
Reserves and customer assets enter the debate
Selig’s remarks identify a possible proof-of-reserves obligation for exchanges holding customer property in omnibus accounts. They also discuss how token distribution, concentrated holdings, lock-up periods and vesting schedules could affect manipulation risk.
The framework contemplates futures commission merchants, or FCMs, intermediating these transactions and managing customer accounts and funds. Capital requirements, risk disclosures and segregation of customer property are among the protections described. They remain elements of the proposed approach, rather than newly adopted obligations.
Selig also said the agency wants to clarify the existing “actual delivery” exception, generally covering delivery to a user’s external, non-custodial wallet within 28 days. A separate initiative concerning software developers falls outside the scope of the current proposals, he added.
