The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has proposed a framework that could create the first federal licensing route for crypto exchanges offering leveraged trading, potentially opening the door to more regulated perpetual futures and other borrowed-money products in the United States.
The plan is not yet a set of binding rules. The CFTC is seeking public input before drafting regulations, with a 60-day comment period expected once the proposal is published in the Federal Register. According to Decrypt, the initiative comes three weeks after the Clarity Act failed in the Senate.
A proposed federal route for exchanges
The CFTC says the framework, built around Regulation CTX and Regulation CAM, would address a fragmented market in which crypto platforms operate under rules designed for other financial markets or rely on state-by-state licensing arrangements.
At its core, the proposal would establish a federal licence for exchanges involved in transactions where leverage is available or borrowed funds are used. The agency appears to be interpreting a provision of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act broadly. Under the approach described in the proposal, even a fully paid trade could potentially fall within its scope if an exchange advertises leverage in its terms and holds customers’ crypto on its own balance sheet.
A licensed platform could be permitted to match buyers and sellers, hold customer cash and digital assets, settle transactions and provide lending services. These activities could be offered by one company, but each would require separate approval.
Leverage would be provided through brokers already subject to anti-money-laundering requirements, or through banks sponsoring those brokers. This structure would place the borrowing element of crypto trading within an existing regulated financial channel rather than leaving it entirely to the exchange.
Customer safeguards and the compliance burden
The proposed framework would require exchanges to separate customer assets from corporate funds, maintain detailed records and monitor trading for manipulation. It would also require platforms to verify loans and prepare for potential losses.
The CFTC is considering additional measures, including proof-of-reserves requirements and standards designed to limit the listing of tokens that can be easily manipulated. These safeguards are intended to address failures before they become crises rather than relying mainly on enforcement after customer losses have occurred.
CFTC Chair Mike Selig said the rules are intended to prevent fraud similar to the collapse of FTX. The agency’s notice also criticises what it describes as “regulation by enforcement” during the Biden administration, citing cases involving Kraken, Ooki DAO and Uniswap.
The proposal would nevertheless create meaningful costs for exchanges. A federal licence could replace a patchwork of state requirements and provide companies with greater clarity, but compliance systems, asset segregation, surveillance and reporting would require substantial investment. Some products or smaller platforms might not be able to meet those obligations.
Why crypto traders are watching the proposal
The most immediate focus is the potential legal path for perpetual futures, commonly known as perps. These contracts allow traders to gain leveraged exposure to an asset without owning it directly, and they have become a major part of crypto markets outside the United States.
A federal framework could allow US-based exchanges to offer similar products under supervision. That possibility is particularly relevant as Robinhood has announced US crypto perps, Coinbase has filed for single-stock perps and Kraken’s parent company is negotiating with Hyperliquid. The source material describes all three developments as potentially dependent on a regulatory route of this kind.
Clearer jurisdiction could also make it easier for banks and traditional brokers to participate in digital-asset markets. Questions over which regulator has authority have been a persistent obstacle for financial firms considering crypto-related services. A single federal option could reduce that uncertainty, although it would not remove the operational and legal requirements attached to the proposed licence.
The CFTC’s action is therefore an opening step rather than a final change in market access. The agency must receive and review public comments, and the proposal would still need to move through the rulemaking process before becoming enforceable. Until then, the framework signals how US regulators may seek to bring leveraged crypto trading into a formal federal structure while imposing stronger controls on exchanges and customer assets.
Market snapshot
The market figures reported in the source material showed major cryptocurrencies little changed. Bitcoin was up 0.2% at $86,300, while Ethereum fell 0.1% to $2,714 and Solana declined 0.3% to $120. HYPE gained 0.6% to $93.60, while ZEC rose 4% to $1,370.
Among other markets, oil was down 2% at $88 and gold was up 0.6% at $4,180. US stock futures were higher, with both the Dow and Nasdaq futures up 0.4%.