SEC and CFTC Clear Path for Spot Crypto Trading With Joint Guidance

Regulators Signal New Era for U.S. Crypto Markets

September 2, 2025, marked a decisive moment for U.S. digital asset regulation as the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission released a joint staff statement clarifying that existing laws do not prohibit registered trading venues from facilitating spot crypto asset transactions, including products involving leverage, margin, or financing. The announcement arrived through coordinated initiatives known as SEC’s Project Crypto and CFTC’s Crypto Sprint, both launched after the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets published its report, “Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology,” which urged regulators to create clarity and prevent blockchain innovation from moving offshore.

SEC Chairman Paul Atkins described the guidance as “a significant step forward in bringing innovation in the crypto asset markets back to America,” emphasizing that “market participants should have the freedom to choose where they trade spot crypto assets.” He added that the SEC would continue working closely with the CFTC to encourage innovation and competition. Acting CFTC Chair Caroline D. Pham reinforced that message, contrasting the new approach with what she called a restrictive period under the previous administration. 

“Under the prior administration, our agencies sent mixed signals about regulation and compliance in digital asset markets, but the message was clear: innovation was not welcome. That chapter is over,” she said, stressing that today’s collaboration would help position the United States as the crypto capital of the world. Pham added, “By working together, we can empower American innovation in these markets and build on President Trump’s collaborative approach. Today’s joint agency statement is the latest demonstration of our mutual objective of supporting growth and development in these markets, but it will not be the last.”

The statement confirmed that SEC-registered national securities exchanges, CFTC-registered designated contract markets, and foreign boards of trade are legally permitted to list spot crypto asset products, even when they feature leverage or margin. This directly opens the door for venues such as Nasdaq, NYSE, CME Group, and Cboe to expand into spot trading while ensuring they meet standards on surveillance, transparency, and investor protection. 

The regulators also issued guidance to firms preparing filings, outlining expectations around clearing, settlement, and custody, with suggestions to engage custodians for asset protection and consider digital collateral structures. Market operators were urged to detail how they will monitor underlying markets through cross-venue pricing, information-sharing agreements, and safeguards against manipulation. Transparency was underscored with requirements to make trade data, depth-of-book information, and reference rates public and accessible, ideally in real time.

Agencies highlighted the importance of fair and orderly markets, urging exchanges to maintain competitive structures and efficient execution standards. Innovation in areas like smart contracts and novel custody models was welcomed, provided firms uphold investor protections. The staff noted that filings would be reviewed promptly, with an open invitation for applicants to engage regulators directly. Observers pointed to this as a sharp pivot away from years of enforcement-driven oversight toward a cooperative stance aimed at strengthening U.S. leadership in digital markets. 

The joint statement was seen as a watershed moment for aligning traditional finance institutions with the digital asset ecosystem, potentially reshaping the global landscape for crypto trading. By providing certainty that regulated U.S. markets can support spot crypto products, the announcement offers a new framework for growth that may influence everything from crypto price index benchmarks to broader measures of coin market cap and trading liquidity across regulated platforms.

This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.