News Regulation and tax
CFTC explores a federal framework for leveraged crypto trading in the US
The US regulator has opened a consultation on CTX and CAM rules, including a tailored registration category for crypto exchanges. This is an early rulemaking stage, centred on the distinction between ordinary trading and financed transactions.
Checked on 6 October 2026.
On 5 October 2026, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the CFTC, published an advance notice ahead of rulemaking for retail crypto asset trading. The initiative focuses on transactions offered with leverage, on margin or through financing, and a tailored federal registration route for platforms offering them. According to the regulator's announcement (Opens in a new tab), public comments will inform its consideration of further steps. Publishing the notice does not activate a new licence or make the framework binding.
Two names, two layers of oversight
Regulation CTX, short for Crypto Asset Transactions, concerns the transactions themselves. Regulation CAM, short for Crypto Asset Markets, addresses the platforms on which they take place. The regulator is considering a registration category called Crypto Asset Market within the existing designated contract market, or DCM, registration framework.
The distinction matters: the tailored route is not intended to replace all existing supervisory frameworks. CFTC Chairman Michael Selig explained in a speech that an exchange offering futures, options or swaps would remain within the ordinary DCM framework. The CAM category is intended for exchanges focused on CTX transactions.
Why full payment does not always end the inquiry
The legal basis for the initiative is section 2(c)(2)(D) of the US Commodity Exchange Act. The framework focuses on offering or executing leveraged, margined or financed retail transactions.
However, the regulator's consultation document draws a finer distinction than buying with cash versus buying on credit. Under its interpretation, a transaction offered with leverage may remain within the provision even if the customer declines financing and pays in full, unless an applicable exception applies.
One exception is actual delivery within 28 days. The regulator proposes clarifying that a transfer to an external wallet controlled by the user, without a custodian, can generally satisfy the exception. Legal classification therefore also depends on how the offer is structured and who controls the asset, not just the payment amount.
Reserves, segregation of funds and responsibility to customers
The protections under consideration include proof-of-reserves requirements for exchanges holding customer assets in omnibus accounts. Intermediation through an FCM, a registered entity accepting trading orders and managing customer funds subject to the relevant requirements, is also being considered.
Selig listed capital, disclosure and customer-asset segregation requirements, alongside customer identification and suspicious activity reporting. These are components of the framework under consideration, not an announcement that every crypto exchange already meets them or will have to implement them in the same way.
What still depends on Congress and the next stages
In an opinion article also published on the CFTC website, Selig stressed that the regulator lacks authority to require every crypto exchange to register without congressional action. The initiative offers a federal route for relevant activity under existing authority; it does not automatically bring all US crypto trading under uniform oversight.
The announcement establishes a 60-day comment period from publication in the Federal Register. The next step is to consider comments and decide how to proceed with rulemaking. For readers in Israel, this is a development in US market structure; the announcement itself neither changes Israeli law nor proves that a particular platform has received new approval.
Further reading on regulation: the SEC's crypto FAQ update. This is a separate document from another regulator, not part of the CFTC process.