The CFTC began what its chairman calls the first round of crypto market regulations — a route taken after Congress's market-structure bill stalled.
The advance notice, released October 5 and published in the Federal Register on October 13, previews two rules: Regulation CTX, which would set out when crypto transactions fall under section 2(c)(2)(D) of the Commodity Exchange Act, and Regulation CAM, which would create a tailored category of designated contract market registration. The statute covers retail commodity transactions offered on a leveraged, margined or financed basis, so the notice does not reach ordinary spot purchases of bitcoin or ether. It proposes no rule text, and a 60-day public comment period follows publication. The Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act (H.R. 3633) on a 49–50 vote on September 15.
Any rule that follows would reach retail leveraged crypto trading and a new exchange category through the CFTC rather than through legislation.
