CFTC Updates Guidance on Tokenized Assets and Blockchain Recordkeeping

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has updated its guidance for registered firms, clarifying how customer funds may be invested in tokenized assets and how blockchain technology can be used to meet recordkeeping requirements.

The update was issued on September 24, days after the U.S. Senate failed to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, commonly known as the CLARITY Act.

The CFTC's updated FAQs address investments of customer funds in tokenized forms of permitted investments and the use of blockchain technology for regulatory recordkeeping.

The guidance specifies that registered entities may invest customer funds in tokenized forms of permitted assets when the tokenized version provides holders with legal and economic rights that are the same as, or functionally equivalent to, those associated with the traditional form of the asset.