The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is moving to reshape U.S. derivatives infrastructure around tokenization, round-the-clock trading, and stablecoin settlement. In a September 22 speech at the U.S. Treasury Market Conference hosted by the New York Federal Reserve, Chairman Michael Selig cal...
"With developments like tokenization, on-chain finance, and 24/7 trading, the next decade will likely bring more change to financial markets than the previous several decades combined." — Michael Selig, Chairman, Commodity Futures Trading Commission
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is moving to reshape U.S. derivatives infrastructure around tokenization, round-the-clock trading, and stablecoin settlement. In a September 22 speech at the U.S. Treasury Market Conference hosted by the New York Federal Reserve, Chairman Michael Selig called on market participants to prepare for "mass tokenization" and urged exchanges and clearinghouses to adopt stablecoins as core plumbing.
The speech caps a five-day sequence of CFTC actions: on September 17, the agency submitted RIN 3038-AF80 — "Regulation of Crypto Asset Transactions and Crypto Asset Markets" — to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. The same day, the Market Participants Division expanded no-action relief to passive software providers building crypto derivatives front-ends. These moves follow the Senate's 49-50 rejection of the CLARITY Act on September 15, signaling the CFTC intends to build crypto market structure through administrative rulemaking rather than wait for Congress.
The actions collectively address a derivatives market the CFTC estimates at roughly $600 trillion in notional value. Citi's June 2026 "Tokenization 2030" report projects $5.5 trillion in tokenized financial assets by 2030, up from approximately $17 billion today. Whether the CFTC's administrative approach survives legal challenge and produces binding rules before late 2027 remains an open question.
Chairman Selig spoke on September 22, 2026, at a conference organized by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York focused on Treasury market structure. The venue is significant: Treasury markets clear roughly $900 billion daily, and the CFTC's interest-rate derivatives markets reference Treasury prices directly.
Selig framed tokenization, on-chain finance, and 24/7 trading as forces that will alter financial markets more in the next decade than in "the previous several decades combined." He stated the administration has "laid the groundwork to continue doing so by embracing innovation, encouraging competition, right-sizing regulation and maintaining the trust that has made our markets the gold standard across the world."
The speech contained three operational directives. First, the CFTC will seek additional avenues for exchanges and clearinghouses to adopt stablecoins. Second, the agency will continue issuing guidance on 24/7 trading for derivatives markets beyond energy. Third, Selig signaled the CFTC will move forward on crypto asset market-structure rules using existing statutory authority under the Commodity Exchange Act and Dodd-Frank Act, regardless of Congressional action.
On September 17, 2026, the CFTC submitted its crypto rulemaking to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). The filing carries Regulatory Identification Number 3038-AF80, titled "Regulation of Crypto Asset Transactions and Crypto Asset Markets." The text is confidential during OIRA review.
The filing is classified at the "prerule" stage on Reginfo.gov. Under Executive Order 12866, OIRA has 10 working days to review preliminary actions, versus 90 calendar days for proposed and final rules. The prerule designation means the CFTC has not yet submitted a formal proposed rule for public comment — it is determining whether and how to begin rulemaking.
According to reporting from The Defiant and CoinDesk, the rulemaking would create a new registration category that does not currently exist. The category would be built on the designated contract market (DCM) model the CFTC already runs for futures exchanges, enabling crypto trading venues to register and offer trading on a leveraged or margined basis under CFTC oversight.
The filing title is split into two halves: "Crypto Asset Transactions" covers trade execution, custody, and settlement; "Crypto Asset Markets" covers the structuring and registration of trading venues. This dual scope suggests the CFTC is attempting to construct a comprehensive market-structure framework, not merely issue guidance on a single aspect of crypto activity.
The timing is not accidental. The Senate rejected the CLARITY Act (H.R. 3633) by a 49-50 cloture vote on September 15. The CFTC submitted its filing two days later. According to reporting from Gokhshtein Media, the agency is invoking its Dodd-Frank authority over leveraged, margined, and derivatives-style trading to sidestep the legislative impasse.
The earliest a binding rule might take effect is late 2027, given that the process requires two comment periods and two additional OIRA reviews.
The CFTC's push toward round-the-clock trading has already produced its first regulatory collision. On June 22, 2026, the Commission issued a Request for Comment on the extension of standard futures contracts to 24/7 trading and on perpetual contracts referencing physically delivered or storable energy commodities.
On July 8, CME Group's NYMEX division filed a self-certification for a 10-Barrel West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Crude Oil Futures contract designed to trade 24 hours per day, seven days per week, with limited maintenance windows. The CFTC stayed the listing on July 9, citing 17 C.F.R. § 40.2(c), because the agency was still examining whether 24/7 crude oil trading would be consistent with Designated Contract Market Core Principles.
The Request for Comment poses a substantive question: whether prices formed during overnight, weekend, and holiday periods are sufficiently liquid and reliable to resist manipulation, particularly where the underlying physical market is assessed only during defined pricing windows. The comment deadline was extended by 30 days to August 26, 2026, following requests from commenters.
The crude oil stay is the first instance of the CFTC actively blocking a 24/7 futures product, establishing that the agency will not permit self-certification to outrun its review process. The broader question — whether energy markets can function 24/7 when physical delivery windows remain fixed — is unresolved.
The CFTC has built a regulatory pathway for tokenized collateral in derivatives markets through a sequence of staff actions:
December 8, 2025: CFTC Staff Letter 25-39 provided guidance on using tokenized assets as collateral in derivatives markets. Staff Letter 25-40 established a pilot program allowing futures commission merchants (FCMs) to accept BTC, ETH, and payment stablecoins as customer margin collateral. The guidance takes a technology-neutral approach: existing regulatory requirements for non-cash collateral apply to tokenized assets without new rulemaking.
February 6, 2026: The Market Participants Division reissued Staff Letter 25-40 with a revision expanding the definition of "payment stablecoin" to include tokens issued by national trust banks. National trust banks — federally chartered entities that provide fiduciary services — had been inadvertently excluded from the original list of eligible stablecoin issuers.
March 20, 2026: The CFTC's Market Participants Division and Division of Clearing and Risk jointly issued responses to 11 frequently asked questions addressing how FCMs, derivatives clearing organizations, and swap dealers may use crypto assets and blockchain technologies.
According to a Nasdaq report cited in industry press, 52% of global firms surveyed plan to manage live tokenized collateral by the end of 2026. The driver is operational: high settlement-failure rates and cost pressure in derivatives markets create demand for collateral that settles faster and with lower operational overhead.
On September 17, 2026 — the same day the CFTC filed its crypto rulemaking with OIRA — the Market Participants Division issued Staff Letter 26-25 expanding no-action relief for passive software providers.
The letter states the CFTC will not recommend enforcement against developers that build front-end interfaces allowing users to send orders directly to registered brokers and designated contract markets, provided the developer does not participate in individual trades. The relief includes 10 qualifying requirements.
This expands an earlier March 17, 2026, letter that applied only to Phantom Technologies, a self-custodial wallet developer. Because no-action letters benefit only the named recipient, no other firm could rely on Phantom's relief. Staff Letter 26-25 makes the position available to any qualifying passive software provider.
The relief expires when the CFTC issues a rulemaking or guidance addressing how introducing-broker registration requirements apply to software developers, tying it directly to the broader RIN 3038-AF80 rulemaking.
The CFTC regulates derivatives markets with roughly $600 trillion in notional value. U.S. futures markets alone carry approximately $31 trillion in notional value; U.S. swaps account for an additional $352 trillion. In Q1 2026, total notional derivative contracts held by banks reached $296.5 trillion, according to OCC data.
The tokenized asset market remains small relative to these figures but is growing rapidly:
Forecast variance is wide. The gap between Grand View Research ($2.1 trillion in 2026) and Mordor Intelligence ($3.01 trillion in 2026) reflects differences in scope and methodology. Both figures are orders of magnitude above the $24 billion currently on-chain, suggesting these projections include tokenized instruments that may not settle on public blockchains.
Administrative rulemaking replaces legislation. The CFTC filed RIN 3038-AF80 two days after the CLARITY Act failed 49-50 in the Senate. The agency is using Dodd-Frank authority to build crypto market structure without Congress.
A new registration category is planned. The CFTC intends to create a DCM sub-category for "crypto asset markets," allowing crypto exchanges to register for leveraged and margined trading under CFTC oversight. No such category currently exists.
24/7 trading is under active review, not approval. The CFTC stayed CME's 24/7 crude oil futures contract on July 9 and is still reviewing whether continuous trading is consistent with market integrity in physical commodity markets.
Tokenized collateral has a working regulatory pathway. Through Staff Letters 25-39, 25-40, and follow-up FAQs, the CFTC has created a functioning framework for FCMs to accept digital assets and stablecoins as margin collateral, including tokens from national trust banks.
Timeline to binding rules is long. The prerule filing must pass through two comment periods and two additional OIRA reviews. The earliest binding rules could take effect is late 2027.
Scale mismatch persists. The CFTC oversees $600 trillion in derivatives. Tokenized assets total $24 billion. The regulatory apparatus is being built for a market that remains 0.004% of its target infrastructure.
The CFTC is constructing a regulatory framework for tokenized markets on three tracks simultaneously: formal rulemaking for crypto market structure (RIN 3038-AF80), operational guidance for 24/7 trading, and incremental relief for tokenized collateral and software providers. Chairman Selig's September 22 speech at the New York Fed signals that these tracks will accelerate regardless of Congressional action on comprehensive crypto legislation.
The approach carries structural risk. Administrative rulemaking under existing Dodd-Frank authority is faster than legislation but narrower in scope and more vulnerable to legal challenge. The CFTC can regulate leveraged and margined crypto trading, but cannot unilaterally define which tokens are commodities versus securities — a question the failed CLARITY Act was designed to answer.
Market participants should note the timeline: OIRA has 10 working days for prerule review, but the full path from prerule to final rule includes two public comment periods and two additional OIRA reviews. The CFTC is moving, but the destination is at least 14 to 18 months away.