Joint Statement from SEC and CFTC on Harmonization of Crypto Regulatory Frameworks
On September 5, 2025, Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Paul Atkins, and Acting Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Caroline D. Pham, issued a joint statement affirming the agencies’ commitment to collaborate on a regulatory regime that fosters innovation in the crypto market and facilitates trading of crypto asset products. In furtherance of this commitment, the SEC and CFTC plan to consider “harmonizing product and venue definitions; streamlining reporting and data standards; aligning capital and margin frameworks; and standing up coordinated innovation exemptions using each agency’s existing exemptive authority” to the extent possible. In addition, the agencies outlined the following as potential next steps to promote regulatory harmonization and strengthen U.S. leadership in the crypto market:
- Host a Joint Roundtable on Regulatory Harmonization Opportunities on September 29, 2025, from 1:00 to 5:00 PM EST to solicit further input from the public on the regulatory frameworks of the SEC and CFTC;
- Expand trading hours to establish a 24/7 market for crypto assets;
- Provide opportunities for innovators to responsibility list event contracts on prediction markets irrespective of jurisdiction;
- Permit the trading of perpetual contracts across SEC and CFTC-regulated platforms in a manner that meets investor and customer protection standards;
- Allow broker-dealers and other intermediaries to more efficiently margin their portfolios of digital assets; and
- Adopt innovation exemptions or safe harbors that provide for peer-to-peer trading of spot crypto assets.
This joint statement comes on the heels of a prior joint statement issued by the staff of the SEC and CFTC on September 2, 2025, previewing a cross-agency initiative to advance the SEC’s Project Crypto and CFTC’s Crypto Sprint efforts to facilitate trading of spot crypto asset products. Our previous alert on the SEC’s Project Crypto can be found here.
Proposed Rules by Nasdaq to Allow Trading of Tokenized Securities
On September 8, 2025, Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (Nasdaq) submitted a rulemaking proposal to modify the exchange’s current infrastructure and systems to enable trading in tokenized securities on its markets. The rulemaking proposal includes the following changes to Nasdaq’s rules:
- Equity 1 Section 1: Align the definition of “security” with the definition in Section 3(a)(10) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and provide for trading of such securities in traditional form or tokenized form, which utilizes blockchain technology;
- Equity 4, Rule 4756: Allow participants to notate their instructions for the entry of an order to clear and settle in tokenized securities;
- Equity 4, Rule 4757: Clarify that an order to settle securities in tokenized form will not impact the priority in which Nasdaq executes such order; and
- Equity 4, Rule 4758: Set forth the process by which Nasdaq will route an order with instructions for clearing and settlement in tokenized securities to the Depository Trust Company (DTC).
According to Senior Vice President of Northern American Markets for Nasdaq, Chuck Mack, the proposed rules will “allow investors a choice: to select whether they want a traded equity or ETP to be represented in a tokenized form or a traditional digital form. If they select the tokenized method, then DTC will do the backend work of clearing and settling the trade, recording that asset as a blockchain-based token.”
Key Takeaways
Regulators and exchanges such as the SEC, CFTC, and Nasdaq continue to focus on developing a comprehensive regulatory framework and trading mechanisms for crypto and digital assets, given both the market demand and directive by the President through his executive order and the Report of the President’s Working Group on Digital Assets, discussed in our prior alert. While the SEC and CFTC are laser-focused on collaborating to develop a crypto regulatory framework, in reality, the rulemaking process could take longer than expected, given the engagement with the public and crypto market participants on these issues. We encourage participants in the crypto market to continue to monitor developments in regulation and guidance on crypto and participate in opportunities to engage directly with these agencies at roundtables and through public comments.
