CFTC | Crypto

On June 29, the US Supreme Court ruled that President Donald Trump had the authority to remove the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, rejecting the statutory limits that previously allowed FTC commissioners to be fired only for cause. This decision overturned Humphrey’s Executor, the 1935 precedent that had protected certain independent agency commissioners […] The post SEC and CFTC crypto plans face new risk from Supreme Court ruling appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Senators John Curtis and Adam Schiff are concerned about the CFTC’s enforcement ability after a “troubling” report on Polymarket’s advertising. A bipartisan pair of US senators has called on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to investigate the prediction market platform Polymarket after it reportedly paid social media influencers to make videos of fake bets. Republican Senator John Curtis and Democratic Senator Adam Schiff sent a letter to CFTC Chair Mike Selig on Thursday, saying they were concerned Polymarket “used deceptive marketing tactics to promote gambling-style products to US audiences.” “If accurate, these allegations are deeply troubling and demand immediate scrutiny from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission,” they wrote. Read more

The regulatory agencies are seeking public feedback on cross-margining, collateral and risk management as cryptocurrency derivatives and multi-asset trading continue to expand. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have opened a joint public consultation on whether to better align portfolio margin rules across securities and derivatives markets, seeking feedback on approaches that could expand cross-margining and reduce market fragmentation. The agencies are requesting input on cross-margining, collateral treatment, risk management, customer protections and the potential effects on market liquidity and competition. The public comment period will remain open for 60 days after the request is published in the Federal Register. “Cross-margining offers a clear opportunity to unlock liquidity that remains frozen in separate accounts,” SEC Chair Paul Atkins said, adding that harmonizing the agencies’ frameworks could help prevent jurisdictional overlap from l...

A group of 17 Democratic senators went after the CFTC’s funding for lawsuits over prediction markets, calling it an “assault” on state authorities. A group of 17 Democratic US senators is pressing leadership in a key committee to address the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) using federal funds in lawsuits against state-level authorities cracking down on prediction markets. In a Wednesday letter to the chair and ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, Senator Richard Blumenthal, Senator Jeff Merkley and 15 other Democrats urged the committee leadership to block the CFTC from using federal funds in Chair Michael Selig’s legal fights against state gaming authorities. Selig has defended the agency’s position that the CFTC has “exclusive jurisdiction” over prediction markets by claiming that the event contracts on the platforms qualify as “swaps” under its purview. “Through engaging in this campaign of litigation and intimidation, the CFTC r...

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has sued Kentucky, now the ninth state the regulator is battling in its fight over prediction markets. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a lawsuit against Kentucky on Tuesday after the state sued prediction market operators last week, accusing them of operating unlicensed and illegal gambling platforms. The lawsuit, filed in federal court, seeks to block Kentucky’s legal action against five prediction markets filed on Wednesday last week, calling for declaratory and injunctive relief. It names Kentucky Governor Andrew Beshear, Attorney General Russell Coleman and the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation, among others. “Kentucky is the latest state attempting to shut down federally-regulated event contracts,” CFTC Chair Mike Selig said in a statement. “As I’ve consistently pledged, the CFTC is firmly committed to maintaining its exclusive jurisdiction over prediction markets, and today’s lawsuit against Kentucky is yet another example of the Comm...

Michael Selig told US cotton producers that the agency’s regulatory approach to crypto perpetual futures may not be a “natural fit for traditional commodity markets, like agriculture.” Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair Michael Selig on Tuesday acknowledged fundamental differences in the traditional commodity markets it has long regulated and its more recent role overseeing aspects of the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry. He told the American Cotton Shippers Association Annual Convention that considering the agency's roots in overseeing asset classes that range from corn to hog bellies, the perpetual contracts tied to digital assets weren’t “suitable for all asset classes, especially in products like agriculture.” “We fully recognize and understand that 24-7 trading and the perpetual model is not a natural fit for traditional commodity markets, like agriculture, that observe limited trading hours and rely on physical delivery,” said Selig. Read more

Alexander Mashinsky, the founder of failed crypto lender Celsius, had earlier been imprisoned for fraud and is now formally banned from CFTC registration.

The lawsuit targets the federal regulator and Chair Michael Selig, alleging that the Commodity Futures Trading Commissioin is treating cryptocurrency “futures” as “swaps,” posing risks to derivatives markets. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group said it was taking legal action against the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over cryptocurrency perpetual futures. In a Thursday filing in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, CME filed a complaint against the CFTC and its chair Michael Selig over the agency's regular approvals of perpetual futures tied to crypto. The lawsuit stemmed from a May 29 notice from the CFTC approving perpetual futures contracts tied to the spot price of Bitcoin (BTC) for prediction markets platform Kalshi and issuing a no-action position for similar products on cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. According to CME's filing, the CFTC’s approval of such products went against directives from the US Congress by treating “futures” as “swaps” with expiration date...

The CFTC staff appointment came amid the US Congress seeking to overhaul federal financial regulators’ roles over digital assets with the CLARITY Act. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has hired a new chief data innovation officer with deep experience in blockchain forensics in what could be seen as the regulator's move toward greater focus on the technology. In a Monday notice, CFTC Chair Michael Selig said that Donald Battle, an adviser to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) crypto task force, would be the commission’s chief data innovation officer. Battle was appointed as an SEC crypto task force adviser in January 2025 with the incoming Trump administration, and previously worked as a blockchain data adviser for the CFTC and crypto enforcement specialist with the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Source: CFTC Read more

The CFTC staff appointment came amid the US Congress seeking to overhaul federal financial regulators’ roles over digital assets with the CLARITY Act. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has hired a new chief data innovation officer with deep experience in blockchain forensics in what could be seen as the regulator's move toward greater focus on the technology. In a Monday notice, CFTC Chair Michael Selig said that Donald Battle, an adviser to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) crypto task force, would be the commission’s chief data innovation officer. Battle was appointed as an SEC crypto task force adviser in January 2025 with the incoming Trump administration, and previously worked as a blockchain data adviser for the CFTC and crypto enforcement specialist with the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Source: CFTC Read more

New Mexico is the eighth state sued by the CFTC over prediction markets, as Gary Gensler doubted the regulators' claim of authority over sports event contracts. New Mexico is the latest US state to be pulled into the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s legal fight for its jurisdiction over prediction markets after the state sued Kalshi for allegedly offering illegal sports betting. The CFTC said on Friday that it sued New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, state Attorney General Raúl Torrez, and members of the New Mexico Gaming Control Board in federal court “to block the state’s efforts to apply state gaming laws against CFTC-registered contract markets.” New Mexico sued Kalshi on June 4, arguing the company is offering sports betting to residents without a license and that its sports event contracts function the same as traditional sports bets. Read more

The proposed rules would preserve election markets and allow many sports-based prediction contracts while limiting bets that could encourage manipulation. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has proposed new rules for prediction markets, signaling that sports event contracts are generally not contrary to the public interest even though federal law classifies them as “gaming.” Released on Wednesday, the proposal distinguishes sports event contracts from games of pure chance, saying markets based on final scores and win-loss records can aid price discovery. Contracts tied to player injuries, officiating decisions or other outcomes that could encourage manipulation, however, are unlikely to meet the public interest test. The proposal also clarifies that election contracts are not considered “gaming” under the relevant federal laws. Reuters reported this could further ease regulatory uncertainty for platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket, which rose to prominence during the 2024 US presidential el...

CFTC Chairman Mike Selig says the rescission of its “no-deny” policy means it now has more flexibility when settling enforcement actions. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has rescinded a long-standing policy that prevented it from accepting a lawsuit settlement if the defendant denied the agency’s allegations. The CFTC said on Wednesday that it scrapped the policy, first adopted in 1998, because it “may have created an incorrect impression that the Commission is trying to shield itself from criticism.” The language was similar to that provided by the US Securities and Exchange Commission when it rescinded a similar policy in May.  Read more

The CFTC chair seeks to roll back an enforcement action on the company founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, donors to Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign and attendees at White House events. Update (June 2 at 9:35 pm UTC): This article has been updated to include a response from the CFTC. US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair Michael Selig is claiming that the agency under former President Joe Biden “politically targeted” the co-founders of cryptocurrency exchange Gemini through enforcement actions. In a Tuesday CNBC interview, Selig said under his leadership, the CFTC was “trying to get back to a baseline” on enforcement, after what he claimed was politicization by the Biden administration. While the Selig acknowledged that he is a political appointee nominated by US President Donald Trump, he claimed that the recently reported staff cuts targeted people “engaging in lawfare.” Read more

As the CFTC and Gemini work together to seek a court's reversal of a 2025 settlement, one of the agency’s former chairs said the public “deserves a better explanation.” A former chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) responded to the agency’s move to vacate a $5 million settlement with cryptocurrency company Gemini. In a Wednesday motion filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, the CFTC joined the Gemini Trust Company in seeking relief from the judgment of a case initially filed in June 2022. The company reached a $5 million settlement with the CFTC in January 2025 while the agency was under former US President Joe Biden. “[T]he CFTC’s action in reversing itself on a settled case is extraordinarily unusual,” Tim Massad, a former CFTC chair and research fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, told Cointelegraph. “The explanation seems to be that the staff got it wrong, not that the law was unclear.” Read more

The CFTC issued notices affecting platforms seeking to offer cryptocurrency perpetual futures contracts, including a no-action position for Coinbase and approval for Kalshi. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) took positions on cryptocurrency perpetual futures contracts and how the industry may be more suited for “24/7 trading, clearing, and settlement.” In a Friday notice, the CFTC said it had approved perpetual futures contracts tied to the spot price of Bitcoin for prediction markets platform Kalshi. The company announced at about the same time that it would launch the perpetual futures contracts on its platform in a move closer to a derivatives exchange. “​​The Order was based on representations and submissions made by Kalshi in support of its request for Commission approval, including its explanation and analysis of the BTCPERP Contract’s terms and conditions, the nature of the underlying commodity market, and the BTCPERP Contract’s compliance with applicable provisions of the Commodity Ex...

The CFTC claimed that its settled complaint filed under the Biden administration relied heavily on a whistleblower’s allegations that Gemini inflated trading activity to distort user demand. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has asked a federal court to vacate its $5 million settlement with crypto exchange Gemini, claiming that the agency’s enforcement action was based on flawed allegations. Gemini settled with the CFTC and paid a $5 million fine in January 2025 in the final weeks of the Biden administration after the agency accused it of making false or misleading statements related to a Bitcoin futures contract. The CFTC filed a joint motion with Gemini in a Manhattan court on Wednesday seeking to vacate the settlement, adding in a statement that it had reviewed the matter and concluded that the “complaint should not have been filed — and would not have been under current enforcement standards.” Read more

U.S. President Donald Trump said it was "critically important" that the CFTC keep "exclusive authority" over prediction markets, echoing CFTC Chair Michael Selig.

CFTC crypto oversight is moving toward a larger role under the CLARITY Act, but the agency that Congress may soon ask to police much of the US crypto market is facing a more immediate test of its own independence. A New York Times investigation reported that senior Commodity Futures Trading Commission officials who raised concerns […] The post CFTC may gain broader crypto oversight as staff who questioned major firms were reportedly sidelined appeared first on CryptoSlate.

A New York Times investigation found that senior CFTC officials who raised concerns about Polymarket, Crypto.com and Gemini were suspended and pushed out. Senior officials at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) who raised concerns about prediction market companies were suspended, investigated and eventually pushed out of the agency. According to a New York Times investigation published Sunday, the officials had flagged concerns about Polymarket, Crypto.com and a Gemini affiliate, each with alleged business ties to President Donald Trump's family. Career staff worried that Crypto.com was not treating small bettors fairly, that Polymarket lacked adequate fraud protections and that Gemini’s affiliate had not completed the required regulatory review to operate. Despite those concerns, then-acting CFTC chair Caroline Pham and her senior counsel intervened to help the firms get what they wanted, sources told the NYT. By the end of 2025, two officials who had raised questions were placed on administrativ...