CFTC Submits Prerule on Crypto Derivatives Amid Clarity Act Stalemate
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has submitted a prerule to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) titled 'Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions and Regulation Crypto Asset Markets'. This move comes days after the Clarity Act, which aimed to establish federal rules for digital assets, failed to clear the Senate's 60-vote cloture threshold.
The CFTC's OIRA submission signals that the agency intends to build a framework for crypto derivatives under its existing statutory authority. This approach is in line with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's previous comments on agency rulemaking as a fallback if the Clarity Act stalls.
The prerule does not reveal specific details, but it suggests that the CFTC is moving forward with a derivatives framework for U.S. markets. The agency has previously issued no-action relief allowing certain software providers to give users access to regulated derivatives without registering as introducing brokers.