The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has clarified how its existing rules apply to tokenized assets. In updated staff guidance published on September 24, the agency addressed investments of customer funds in tokenized versions of instruments already permitted under its regulations. The clarification does not give firms blanket permission to invest customer money in cryptocurrencies or otherwise ineligible assets.
The tokenized versions must provide legal and economic rights that are the same as, or functionally equivalent to, those of the traditional assets. Applicable custody requirements must also be met.
The CFTC guidance also addresses the use of blockchain and distributed ledger technology for regulatory recordkeeping. Firms remain responsible for meeting the record retention and maintenance obligations that fall within the agency’s jurisdiction.
For private blockchains, a separate off-chain copy may not be necessary where the relevant requirements are satisfied. Firms using public, permissionless blockchains must ensure that records remain available for retention and retrieval, including if the network becomes unavailable.
CFTC Chairman Michael Selig said the update forms part of the agency’s continuing work to provide greater regulatory clarity for the crypto industry.
The clarification follows the Senate’s failure to advance the CLARITY Act in a procedural vote on September 15. The legislation is intended to define the division of crypto oversight between the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), while extending the CFTC’s authority over spot digital commodity markets. The setback has made the passage of comprehensive US crypto market-structure legislation in 2026 less likely.
With Congress deadlocked, the CFTC and SEC are using their existing statutory powers to move forward with digital-asset policy.
On September 17, the CFTC submitted a crypto transaction and market rulemaking initiative to the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). The submission was listed at the preliminary “prerule” stage, with detailed provisions not yet publicly available. Separately, the same day, CFTC staff issued conditional no-action relief for providers of passive software that connects users to regulated derivatives markets. Subject to specified conditions, staff will not recommend enforcement action solely for failing to register as an introducing broker or an associated person in connection with the covered software activities.
The SEC also introduced its Innovation Exemption, providing temporary, conditional relief for trading eligible tokenized US stocks through automated market makers and liquidity pools. Trading access must be permissioned, even though the underlying smart contracts must be public, auditable and deployed on a public, permissionless distributed ledger. The exemptions are set to expire five years after publication, and the tokenized shares must give holders the same rights and privileges as equivalent traditional shares.
