CFTC updates crypto FAQs on tokenized funds and records

The CFTC’s Market Participants Division, Division of Market Oversight, and Division of Clearing and Risk updated their FAQs on crypto assets and blockchain technologies on September 24, according to the CFTC’s release.

The changes focus on two operational questions: investments of customer funds in tokenized forms of permitted investments, and the use of blockchain technologies to meet a registrant’s recordkeeping requirements.

The FAQs are an update to the version released on March 20. Using the two dates provided by the CFTC, the interval was 188 days: 11 days remaining in March, plus 30 in April, 31 in May, 30 in June, 31 in July, 31 in August, and 24 days in September. The September release therefore expands the same FAQ framework rather than introducing a separately dated document.

The original FAQs covered registrant and registered entity activities relating to crypto assets and blockchain technologies. They also provided clarity on subjects addressed in CFTC Staff Letter 25-39, titled “Tokenized Collateral Guidance,” and CFTC Staff Letter 26-05, titled “Staff No-Action Position Regarding Digital Assets Accepted as Margin Collateral,” according to the agency.

That history matters for firms already working from those staff letters. The new material places tokenized permitted investments and blockchain recordkeeping inside the FAQ set that registrants and registered entities can use when assessing those activities. The CFTC’s release does not state that the update creates a new authorization, changes a product deadline, or permits a specific token or platform.

The agency’s own account is that the update is part of its effort to provide regulatory clarity. Chairman Michael S. Selig said, “I’m pleased to see staff update these frequently asked questions consistent with the agency’s ongoing efforts to provide regulatory clarity for the crypto industry,” the CFTC said in its release.

The public release does not provide product-by-product determinations or identify which registrants are affected.

The CFTC staff issued the updated FAQs on September 24, six months and four days after the original publication date.