Just days after the closing of the comment period for the CFTC's first initiative under its Crypto Sprint, on August 21, 2025, the CFTC announced the beginning of its next Crypto Sprint initiative. The CFTC previously...more
We noted last week in connection with our initial post regarding the Presidential Working Group Report on Digital Assets (the "PWG Report" or the "Report") that we would be engaged in further analysis of that Report and offer...more
Coming on the heels of the CFTC's announcement of a Crypto Sprint to start implementing the recommendations in the White House digital asset report ("White House Report"), on August 4, 2025, the CFTC launched its first...more
8/7/2025
/ CFTC ,
Comment Period ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Designated Contract Markets (DCMs) ,
Digital Assets ,
Notice of Inquiry ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process
Yesterday, the White House released a major Report on how digital assets will be regulated in the United States along with a substantial series of recommendations for their near-term future development "to support the...more
Coming on the heels of the House's passage of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 ("Clarity Act") with strong bipartisan support, the Senate Banking Committee released its initial discussion draft for crypto market...more
7/25/2025
/ Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Markets ,
FinTech ,
Investment ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Senate Banking Committee
On April 17, 2025, the Market Participants Division, the Division of Clearing and Risk, and the Division of Market Oversight (collectively, the "Operating Divisions") of the CFTC, along with the Division of Enforcement...more
4/23/2025
/ CFTC ,
Compliance ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
New Guidance ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Self-Reporting
On April 4, 2025, the CFTC's Division of Market Participants issued No-Action Letter 25-09 regarding the controversial Pre-Trade Mid-Market Mark ("PTMMM") requirements in CFTC Regulation 23.431, effectively eliminating the...more
4/17/2025
/ CFTC ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Market Participants ,
No-Action Letters ,
Penalties ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Swap Dealers
On January 20, 2025, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") unanimously elected Commissioner Caroline D. Pham as acting chairman. The Administration has not yet identified who will be nominated for the position of...more
2/6/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
CFTC ,
Compliance ,
Digital Assets ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
GAO ,
National Futures Association ,
Popular ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process ,
SBA ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On January 21, 2025, Acting SEC Chairman Mark Uyeda announced the creation of a crypto Task Force dedicated to developing a "comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for crypto assets." Acting Chairman Uyeda tasked...more
1/30/2025
/ CFTC ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
FinTech ,
Pilot Programs ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Trump Administration
The Trump Administration has embarked on a fundamental shift on how the United States approaches digital assets—in marked contrast with the Biden Administration's policies—likely changing the prospects of the crypto market in...more
1/27/2025
/ Biden Administration ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Digital Assets ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Reserve ,
FinTech ,
Liquidity ,
National Security ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stablecoins ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury
The Digital Chamber ("TDC"), an organization dedicated to championing Bitcoin, digital assets, and blockchain innovation, recently released a proposed agenda for the SEC's new chair and commission titled TDC's "2025 SEC...more
On December 4, 2024, the CFTC's Division of Enforcement ("Division") released its enforcement results for Fiscal Year 2024. The results reflected an all-time high for monetary relief, mainly from its resolution of off-channel...more
12/11/2024
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
CTFC ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement ,
Fraud ,
Know Your Customers ,
Penalties ,
Restitution ,
Whistleblowers
As we have previously noted, we expect that the second Trump Administration will be significantly more favorable to crypto than the Biden Administration, especially with the recent appointment of David Sacks as the...more
12/9/2024
/ Accounting Standards ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banking Sector ,
Confidential Supervisory Information ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Innovation ,
OCC ,
Operation Choke Point ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Reputational Injury ,
Risk Assessment ,
Transparency ,
Trump Administration
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) released its final guidance regarding Designated Contract Markets' (DCMs) listing of voluntary carbon credit (VCC) derivative contracts for trading, marking a pivotal...more
11/18/2024
/ Carbon Taxes ,
CFTC ,
Compliance ,
Contract Terms ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Market Manipulation ,
Popular ,
Private Sector ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement ,
Tax Credits
"The United States, with its history of welcoming innovators, has a large reserve of good will. In a country that ever aspires to improve with time, people are hopeful that bad policy approaches can change. This hope is not...more
On September 6, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of KalshiEx LLC ("KalshiEx"), lifting a September 2023 order issued by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") prohibiting...more
In the dynamic world of financial regulation, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has been actively addressing market manipulation with enforcement actions to ensure market integrity. The CFTC's recent settlement...more
9/10/2024
/ Ambiguous ,
CFTC ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Innovation ,
Market Manipulation ,
Noncompliance ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Settlement
On June 17, 2024, the CFTC's Division of Enforcement announced that it had reached a settlement with Trafigura Trading LLC ("Trafigura") over allegations that the firm manipulated oil derivatives prices while discouraging...more
7/2/2024
/ Anti-Bribery ,
Carve Out Provisions ,
CFTC ,
DOJ Strike Force ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Enforcement ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Harassment ,
Market Manipulation ,
Misappropriation ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Professional Regulators ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Special Investigators ,
Trading Platforms ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
Updated: reporting requirements for swap dealers, swap participants, and large traders in the futures and options market
On April 30, 2024, in two separate releases, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC")...more
On January 24, 2024, the CFTC's newly formed AI Task Force announced the issuance of a request for comment (RFC) on the current and potential uses and risks of artificial intelligence (AI) in the derivatives markets the CFTC...more
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC" or "Commission") issued two proposed rules on December 18, 2023, both of which are now open for public comment. The first proposed rule would create an "Operational Resilience...more
On November 7, 2023, the Division of Enforcement ("Division") of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") released its annual report of the results of its enforcement efforts, announcing that it had...more
12/15/2023
/ CFTC ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement ,
Financial Institutions ,
Fraud ,
HSBC ,
Interest Rates ,
OCC ,
Popular ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Restitution ,
Spoofing ,
Swap Dealers ,
Unfair Trade Practices Act
On December 4, 2023 the CFTC issued proposed guidance regarding the listing of voluntary carbon credit ("VCC") derivative contracts ("Proposed Guidance"). The Proposed Guidance outlines factors that designated contract...more
In May 2023, the Division of Clearing and Risk ("DCR") of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") issued two Staff Advisory letters addressing areas of regulatory focus related to Derivatives Clearing Organizations...more
While the initial swap dealer enforcement actions brought by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) focused on swap data reporting failures, recent enforcement efforts have focused on compliance with business conduct...more
5/26/2023
/ CFTC ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Compliance ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Enforcement ,
Final Rules ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Swap Dealers ,
Swaps ,
Transparency