BLOCKCHAIN—SEC, CFTC staffs issue coordinated statement on the trading of certain spot crypto products - 04 September 2025

The cross-agency release states SEC- and CFTC-registered exchanges are not prohibited from facilitating the trading of spot crypto asset products under current law.

The staffs of the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets and the CFTC’s Division of Market Oversight and Division of Clearing and Risk have announced a cross-agency initiative that seeks to coordinate efforts regarding the trading of certain spot crypto asset products.

Their joint statement is in line with action-oriented frameworks outlined last month in the SEC’s “Project Crypto” and the CFTC’s “Crypto Sprint.” It also offers the Divisions’ view that current U.S. law does not prohibit SEC- or CFTC-registered exchanges from facilitating the trading of spot crypto asset products.

In addition, the Divisions’ efforts appeared designed to speed up the implementation of recommendations made in the President’s Working Group (PWG) on Digital Asset Markets’ 166-page report, which was released on July 30. “In line with these goals, the Divisions stand ready to support consideration by their respective agencies of exchange trading in certain spot crypto asset products,” they stated.

Spot commodity products. As noted in the joint Divisions’ statement, “absent an exception or other appropriate relief, the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) requires that certain leveraged, margined, or financed “retail commodity transactions” (essentially futures contracts) be conducted on a CFTC-registered designated contract market (DCM) or on a CFTC-registered foreign board of trade (FBOT).

As defined by the CEA in Section 2(c)(2)(D), a “retail commodity transaction” is any agreement, contract, or transaction in any commodity that is entered into with, or offered to (even if not entered with), a person that is not an eligible contract participant or eligible commercial entity; and entered into, or offered (even if not entered with), on a leveraged or margined basis, or financed by the offeror, the counterparty, or a person acting in concert with the offeror or counterparty on a similar basis.

The Act requires such agreements, contracts and transactions to be conducted on a regulated exchange and subjects them to the CFTC’s anti-fraud authority.

Exception to the rule. One exception is for retail commodity transactions that are listed on a SEC-registered national securities exchange (NSE). Importantly, in Tuesday’s joint statement, the Divisions provided the viewpoint that DCMs, FBOTs, and NSEs are not prohibited from facilitating the trading of certain spot crypto asset products.

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