CFTC submits crypto market regulation plan for White House review

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has submitted a new regulatory action covering crypto asset transactions and markets for White House review, as the agency moves forward with its approach to overseeing the digital asset sector.

According to a filing with the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, the action, titled “Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions and Regulation Crypto Asset Markets,” was received on Sept. 17 and is listed at the “prerule” stage. The designation indicates the action is at an early stage of the rulemaking process and has not yet been formally proposed.

The filing does not disclose details of the planned regulation, but comes days after the Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act, legislation aimed at establishing a federal regulatory framework for crypto markets.

Source: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs

A day after the Sept. 15 vote, CFTC Chair Michael Selig posted on X that the agency was “locked in and ready to ship” rules for crypto markets using its existing statutory authority, while SEC Chair Paul Atkins similarly said the securities regulator would move ahead “with or without legislation.”

Both agencies took action the following day. The CFTC issued a no-action position for providers of passive software, while the SEC announced temporary exemptions for certain platforms facilitating onchain trading of tokenized securities.