CFTC Chair Selig Unveils Two Crypto Exchange Registration Rules After Congress Fails to Pass CLARITY Act

CFTC Chairman Mike Selig announced on October 26 that the agency is developing two new regulatory proposals, Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions and Regulation Crypto Asset Markets, that would allow crypto exchanges to voluntarily register with federal regulators. The move comes after Congress failed to advance the CLARITY Act, which Selig described as a source of deep disappointment, saying the legislation would have guaranteed customer protections for crypto asset trading.

The proposed rules would cover crypto assets already determined to fall under CFTC authority, including bitcoin and ether, following a joint CFTC and SEC interpretation issued earlier this year. Selig has made clear that under existing authority the CFTC cannot compel all exchanges to register federally, only leveraged-trading platforms, while spot exchanges would remain under state oversight. Registration would be voluntary, creating a single federal market-regulatory framework for platforms that choose to participate.

Selig emphasized that crypto markets should receive the same investor protections currently afforded to US derivatives markets, and said the agency would not wait for Congress to act. The CFTC had already sent a draft proposal to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review before the announcement, a step that must be completed before the rules return to the CFTC for a formal vote and public comment period.