Overview
- Acting Chair Caroline D. Pham unveiled the August 4 plan to use existing Commodity Exchange Act authority for physically settled spot crypto asset contracts on CFTC-registered designated contract markets
- The CFTC invited stakeholder feedback through August 18 on structuring spot contracts for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and XRP under DCM regulations
- The initiative is part of the agency’s Crypto Sprint and is coordinated with the SEC’s Project Crypto to close oversight gaps between spot and derivatives markets
- Physically settled contracts on exchanges like CME Group aim to improve price transparency, market integrity and compliance without new legislation
- Legal experts caution the proposal could conflict with the SEC’s securities jurisdiction and expose unresolved asset-classification risks