The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has moved to fill the regulatory void left by Congress, unveiling its first formal proposal for overseeing digital asset markets. CFTC Chairman Michael Selig (@ChairmanSelig) presented the initiative at Fordham Law's annual Blockchain Regulatory Symposium, framing it as a direct response to the Senate's failure to pass landmark crypto legislation.

Congress Stalls, the CFTC Steps In

The trigger for the proposal was the collapse of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act in the Senate. On September 17, 2026, the CFTC submitted its rulemaking for the crypto market to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, just two days after the Senate rejected the CLARITY Act by a narrow vote of 49 to 50. The core dispute that sank the bill was not the proposed SEC-CFTC oversight split itself, but rather the ethics language governing officials' crypto holdings.

With comprehensive legislation now unlikely before 2027, Selig made clear the agency would not wait. "Today, the CFTC is doing its part to deliver clear rules of the road for crypto asset markets with its advanced notice of proposed rulemaking on Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions (Regulation CTX) and Regulation Crypto Asset Markets (Regulation CAM)," Selig said in prepared remarks.

Ending Regulation by Enforcement

A central theme of Selig's proposal is dismantling the enforcement-first approach that defined the previous administration's crypto policy. The new rules, he said, "would codify a pathway for crypto asset exchanges to operate under uniform national oversight by the CFTC pursuant to the same statutory authorities that the prior administration instead utilized to regulate by enforcement." That prior approach drew widespread criticism for targeting software developers, custodians, and exchanges, and for pushing innovation offshore.

Selig has also signaled a more collaborative relationship with the SEC. He said the U.S. is reclaiming leadership in digital assets through closer coordination between regulators, noting that he and SEC Chairman Paul Atkins have put an "end to the days of CFTC-SEC infighting by partnering on the Project Crypto initiative."

On the structural side, Selig's plan creates a new designated contract market (DCM) category, letting unregistered crypto exchanges offer leveraged trading under CFTC oversight without Congressional action. The proposal targets digital commodity exchanges, margin clearinghouses, and intermediaries dealing in $BTC and other major non-security cryptocurrencies. The CFTC filing sits at the pre-rule stage, requiring two comment periods and two OIRA reviews before a binding rule could arrive in late 2027.

Sources:
CoinDesk: U.S. CFTC joins SEC in proposing crypto regulations
Troutman Pepper Locke: In the Wake of CLARITY Act's Failure, Agencies Move Forward
Yahoo Finance: The CFTC Just Sent Its Crypto Rules to the White House