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CFTC Chair Michael Selig is preparing an agency-led crypto framework if the CLARITY Act fails to advance in the Sept. 15 Senate vote.
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The proposed rules could let CFTC-supervised exchanges offer leveraged or margined cryptocurrency trading in the US.
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CFTC staff will consult DeFi developers about legal pathways for operating onchain protocols within the country.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is preparing to build its own regulatory framework for cryptocurrency markets if Congress fails to advance the CLARITY Act in a key Senate vote scheduled for Sept. 15.
CFTC Chair Michael Selig unveiled the contingency plan during the first meeting of the agency’s Innovation Advisory Committee. The 43-member group includes senior executives from Coinbase, Kraken, Ripple, Gemini, Robinhood, Nasdaq, the New York Stock Exchange and CME Group.
Selig said legislation remains the preferred route because it would establish a durable division of responsibilities between the CFTC and Securities and Exchange Commission.
However, he has directed staff to explore how the agency could use its existing authority to regulate crypto trading, decentralized finance and prediction markets.
CFTC Could Authorize Leveraged Crypto Markets
Under the proposed framework, registered firms and currently unregistered crypto exchanges could seek designation as CFTC-supervised crypto asset markets.
The status could allow platforms to offer leveraged or margined crypto products under rules tailored to digital assets. Such a system could create a regulated US pathway for products that American traders often access through offshore exchanges.
Selig said the CFTC would give lawmakers time to vote on the CLARITY Act. If negotiations fail, however, the agency will “move swiftly” to propose its own rules.
“If Clarity continues to stall because of Democrat obstruction, the CFTC will utilize its existing authorities to begin establishing a regime for crypto asset markets,” Selig said.
The remarks follow President Donald Trump’s call for Congress to pass a “fair version” of the bill. Trump also recently said Selig was working to bring Hyperliquid into the US in a “fully compliant and legal” way.
DeFi Developers Could Receive a US Legal Pathway
The CFTC’s fallback plan would not be limited to centralized exchanges. Selig also directed agency staff to engage with developers building onchain financial protocols.
The goal is to determine how developers could legally offer decentralized products in the US without exposing themselves to the enforcement uncertainty that has previously pushed many projects offshore.
Source: finance.yahoo.com