Overview
- CFTC Market Participants Division issued a staff no-action position that lets strictly passive software providers avoid registering as introducing brokers or associated persons.
- The guidance defines passive software as tools that route orders and show market data but do not hold custody, generate buy or sell signals, or exercise trading discretion.
- Relief is conditional on routing trades only to entities already registered with the CFTC, such as futures commission merchants, introducing brokers, or designated contract markets.
- The position is non-binding staff guidance that can be modified or withdrawn and does not override separate state licensing or consumer-protection rules.
- The clarity may let crypto wallet makers embed regulated derivatives access without broker-level costs and compliance, but crossing into custody or active trading will remove the relief and trigger full regulation.