The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is introducing a new form of federally regulated cryptocurrency trading, encouraging its licensed platforms to offer leveraged spot digital assets products. This initiative is set to commence as early as today with Bitnomial.
The Bitnomial exchange is overseen by the U.S. derivatives regulator as a designated contract market (DCM). This means that the new activity will roll out in a fully regulated environment, following significant encouragement from the federal agency—including direct engagements with Acting Chairman Caroline Pham to facilitate the process during a prolonged federal government shutdown.
“Recent events on offshore exchanges have highlighted the necessity for Americans to have increased options and access to safe, regulated U.S. markets,” Pham stated. “Now, for the first time, spot crypto can be traded on CFTC-registered exchanges that have upheld the gold standard for nearly a century, ensuring the customer protections and market integrity that Americans rightfully expect.”
The initiative, which Pham described as a “historic milestone,” aligns with recommendations from the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets, which had released a report this year outlining a crypto agenda for regulators in the U.S. Pham stated that the CFTC is “finally leveraging our decades-long existing authority” to commence this trading.
Details regarding the trading launch are yet to be disclosed by Chicago-based Bitnomial. Alongside Bitnomial, other regulated DCMs at the CFTC include Coinbase, Kalshi, and Polymarket.
This action was one of the initial agenda items in the CFTC’s “crypto sprint” aimed at realizing the administration’s pro-crypto policy objectives. It was a key priority for Pham as she awaited her permanent successor as chairman, a process that may be advancing soon as the Senate proceeds with the confirmation of Trump nominee Mike Selig.
Pham plans to depart the agency when the new chairman takes office, leaving that individual to operate within what is intended to be a five-member commission. The White House has not yet proposed any additional nominees to complete the leadership structure, so the next chairman will be managing the crypto policy movement independently.
Other initiatives include efforts to support tokenized collateral involving stablecoins, anticipated to begin early next year, as well as a broad rulemaking that will integrate blockchain technology across various CFTC regulations.
