CFTC advances crypto market rule proposal as U.S. agencies press ahead without Clarity Act

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CFTC advances crypto market rule

Highlights

CFTC submitted an undisclosed crypto market proposal to the White House OMB on Thursday after the Senate failed to pass the Clarity Act.
SEC issued an 'innovation exemption' on Thursday, providing a five-year path for qualifying platforms to offer onchain tokenized stock trading without registering as securities exchanges.
CFTC published a no-action letter on Friday allowing passive software providers to connect users to regulated derivatives markets without registering as introducing brokers, pending further rulemaking.

Regulatory push continues in Washington

As first reported by CoinDesk, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission submitted a new crypto market proposal to the White House Office of Management and Budget on Thursday, even though the scope and substance of the draft remain undisclosed.

The agency is trying to move ahead with its own framework after the Senate does not pass the Clarity Act earlier this week. It remains unclear which crypto assets the proposal covers, what exchanges would need to do to qualify, what restrictions could apply, or how broadly the CFTC believes its authority extends.

Once the OMB completes its review, the draft returns to the CFTC for a vote and public comment. It then requires another vote before it can take effect.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is also moving on Thursday, issuing what it calls an innovation exemption that gives qualifying platforms a five-year path to offer onchain trading of certain tokenized stocks without registering as securities exchanges. Both agencies say they continue working together to provide clearer rules for the crypto industry under existing authority after the legislation stalls.

CFTC Chair Mike Selig says in a post on X after Wednesday's vote that the agency is locked in and ready to ship rules for what he describes as a new frontier of finance.

Relief for software providers and market implications

On Friday, the CFTC also publishes a no-action letter that lets certain software providers connect users to regulated derivatives markets without registering as introducing brokers. The relief applies to passive software that allows users to view markets and send orders directly to registered firms, including through some crypto wallet interfaces.

Under the letter, providers can market specific contracts and receive transaction-based fees, but they cannot hold customer assets, generate buy or sell signals, or control how orders are routed or executed. The measures suggest the regulator is trying to draw a clearer line between infrastructure providers and intermediaries that perform broker-like functions.

The relief includes conditions such as risk disclosures, recordkeeping requirements and compliance with marketing rules. It remains in effect until the CFTC adopts rules or guidance that directly address registration requirements for software developers, leaving the sector with a temporary operating framework while broader crypto rules are still taking shape.

Our earlier coverage of the SEC’s five-year “Innovation Exemption” and the CFTC’s no-action relief outlined how U.S. regulators are expanding market access for tokenized stocks and certain crypto-derivatives interfaces under existing authority. We explained that the SEC’s approach sets strict guardrails for tokenized equities, while the CFTC relief draws lines around “passive” software providers that can connect users to regulated derivatives without introducing broker registration, underscoring how agency action is moving faster than Congress.

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