Overview
- A joint staff statement says SEC- and CFTC-registered venues, including national securities exchanges, designated contract markets, and foreign boards of trade, are not prohibited from facilitating certain spot crypto asset products, including leveraged, margined, or financed retail transactions.
- The divisions outlined operational safeguards covering custody arrangements, clearing and settlement mechanics, market surveillance and information sharing, public dissemination of trade data, and principles for fair and orderly markets.
- The clarification is non-binding staff guidance that creates no new rules or legal safe harbors, so any listings must proceed through existing registration, rule-change, or relief processes.
- Regulators said staff stand ready to review filings and engage with market participants, while industry voices predict traditional exchanges may explore listings even though no specific assets were identified in the statement.
- The move builds on the SEC’s Project Crypto, the CFTC’s Crypto Sprint, and PWG recommendations and reflects a shift toward coordinated rulemaking, with asset eligibility and jurisdictional lines to be settled through future formal actions.