US Commodity Futures Trading Commission Acting Chairman Caroline Pham has removed “outdated guidance” on the delivery of crypto, which has been welcomed for granting exchanges greater flexibility.
“Removing outdated and overly complex guidance that penalizes the crypto industry and suppresses innovation is precisely what the Administration aims to achieve this year,” Pham stated on Thursday.
The guidance, initially finalized in March 2020, pertained to when the “actual delivery” of crypto occurred in a commodity transaction, but the CFTC noted in a notice that it needed to “reevaluate such guidance in light of developments during the past 5 years.”
The CFTC under Pham has pursued a more crypto-friendly stance, and Pham mentioned that the guidance was withdrawn following recommendations from the president’s crypto working group, which advised the CFTC to provide guidance on how crypto might be defined as commodities and elaborate on previous guidance concerning the actual delivery of virtual assets.
Delivery rule rollback unlocks margin trading
StarkWare general counsel Katherine Kirkpatrick Bos praised the change, indicating that the prior guidance made it difficult for exchanges to offer margin or leverage unless actual delivery took place within 28 days.
“This provides significantly more flexibility for exchanges,” she said. “But PSA — this is not law! Just guidance. Everything can revert should leadership change.”
The CFTC can issue guidance to clarify its interpretation of legislation and provide insight into how it may enforce rules in certain scenarios; however, it’s not typically legally binding like formal regulation.
Garry Krugljakow, head of Bitcoin (BTC) strategy at the Berlin-based Bitcoin treasury firm aifinyo AG, suggested in an X post on Thursday that this is a “major indicator” of future developments.
“This move indicates two things: clearer jurisdiction for the CFTC and a regulatory approach aimed at scalability, not hesitation,” he remarked.
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“Actual delivery was reasonable in 2020. It’s outdated in an era of genuine custody, collateralization, and Bitcoin-backed credit,” Krugljakow added.
No guidance leaves uncertainty
Meanwhile, Todd Phillips, a fellow at the Roosevelt Institute, noted that the definition of actual delivery is crucial, “as it determines what exchanges must register with the CFTC and which do not.”
“The CFTC has replaced the previous guidance with nothing,” he commented. “At present, we lack clarity on what the CFTC considers actual delivery, or who needs to register.”
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