CFTC opens comments on leveraged retail crypto framework

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission published an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on October 5, 2026, asking for public input on a federal framework for retail commodity transactions involving crypto assets — leveraged trading included, per the fact sheet’s characterization of the proposal — under Section 2(c)(2)(D) of the Commodity Exchange Act.

The centerpiece is a proposed exchange category called a “crypto asset market,” or CAM, structured as a subcategory of designated contract market registration. Two accompanying rule sets — Regulation CTX and Regulation CAM — would govern CFTC-registered exchanges offering crypto assets, according to The Block. What those obligations would actually require isn’t spelled out in the announcement. The practical consequence, in our assessment, is that exchanges cannot yet determine their compliance burden from this announcement alone.

Chairman Michael S. Selig framed the move in consumer protection and fraud prevention. “The American people deserve clarity, certainty, and consumer protections in the crypto asset markets and the agency is committed to delivering this by incorporating crypto asset transactions into its uniform national market regulatory framework,” he said. He also said the commission would take steps designed to prevent fraudulent schemes such as FTX rather than only prosecute them after the fact.

Selig was equally direct about the limits of CFTC authority. “We don’t have the authority to impose such a requirement without congressional action,” he said, per The Block.

The comment period runs 60 days from Federal Register publication — not from October 5. That gap between announcement date and Register publication makes the actual deadline fuzzy for now. Market participants have a defined window coming; they just don’t have a firm calendar date to mark.

The move follows a September effort in which the CFTC previously filed crypto-asset rulemaking with the White House, according to The Block. For institutional players, a federal registration path under CAM could expand the pool of firms willing to engage with registered venues at all. Whether that happens, or whether CTX and CAM compliance costs simply become a new barrier to entry, is exactly what the rulemaking process is designed to surface. Which specific obligations will apply, and at what cost, remains to be determined through that process.

The CFTC paired the ANPRM with a separate derivatives action the same day. Its Division of Market Oversight issued no-action relief to designated contract markets, permitting conversion of existing perpetual-style broad-based security index futures into true broad-based security index perpetual futures — meaning DCMs may remove expiration dates under specific conditions. Those conditions: collect feedback from participants with open positions, provide advance notice and an opportunity to exit, include suitable risk disclosures, and make no other material changes to contract terms.

The relief expires October 20, 2026. That is 15 calendar days after the October 5 announcement.