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BTC The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission fills regulatory gap and launches first formal proposal for digital asset markets
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is working to fill the regulatory vacuum left by Congress and released its first formal proposal to regulate digital asset markets. CFTC Chairman Michael Selig introduced the initiative at the Fordham University's annual blockchain regulatory seminar, positioning it as a direct response to the Senate's failure to pass landmark cryptocurrency legislation.
Congress stalled, and the CFTC stepped in.
The trigger point for the proposal was the defeat of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act in the Senate. On September 17, 2026, just two days after the Senate vetoed the CLARITY Act by a narrow margin of 49 - 50, the CFTC submitted draft rulemaking for the crypto market to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA).
The central controversy that led to the bill's failure was not the proposed division of regulatory powers between the SEC and the CFTC, but the ethics provisions regarding officials holding cryptocurrencies. Given the slim chance of passing comprehensive legislation by 2027, Selig made it clear that regulators would not wait any longer.
Selig said in a written statement: "Today, the CFTC is fulfilling its responsibility to provide a clear code of conduct for the crypto asset market by issuing advance rulemaking notices on Regulation CTX and Regulation CAM."
End the "law enforcement instead of supervision" model
A core theme of Selig's proposal is to abandon the previous administration's "law enforcement first"-led encryption policy style. He pointed out that the new rules will "establish a path that allows crypto asset exchanges to operate under the same legal powers and under the unified national supervision of the CFTC," replacing the tool previously used to "replace supervision with enforcement."
Previous practices have been widely criticized for targeting software developers, custodians and exchanges, and have forced innovative activity overseas. In addition, Selig also signaled a more collaborative relationship with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
He said the United States is regaining leadership in digital assets through close coordination among regulators. He mentioned that he and SEC Chairman Paul Atkins had ended the days of infighting between the CFTC and the SEC by working together to advance the "Project Crypto."
Structural changes and future outlook
At the structural level, Selig's plan creates a new designated contract market (DCM) category that allows unregistered crypto exchanges to provide leveraged trading under CFTC supervision without requiring congressional action. The proposal mainly targets digital commodity exchanges, margin clearing houses and intermediaries engaged in trading Bitcoin (BTC) and other major non-securities cryptocurrencies.
The CFTC is currently in the early stages of rule-making and will need to go through two comment periods and two OIRA reviews before final binding rules are issued at the end of 2027.
