The CFTC has formally opened U.S. exchanges to listed spot crypto trading, marking the agency’s most direct move yet to bring digital assets under federal market oversight.
CFTC Opens Door to Listed Spot Crypto Trading in the U.S.
A public notice from Commissioner Caroline D. Pham states that Americans can now trade listed spot crypto products directly on CFTC-regulated exchanges. She said the move reflects a shift toward keeping digital asset activity inside supervised U.S. markets rather than on offshore platforms.
Pham noted that the agency approved new pathways that allow exchanges to list spot Bitcoin and other crypto products under existing commodity rules. She added that the framework aims to increase transparency, apply standard market safeguards and extend the same oversight used in futures markets.
The related filing outlines how exchanges must meet core principles, including surveillance standards, risk controls and customer-protection measures. It also confirms that listed spot crypto products will fall under the CFTC’s enforcement reach. According to the announcement, the goal is to create a regulated structure that integrates spot crypto trading into the broader U.S. derivatives ecosystem while maintaining established compliance expectations.
CFTC opens listed spot crypto trading on U.S. exchanges
On Dec. 4, 2025, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission confirmed that Americans can now trade listed spot crypto products on CFTC-regulated exchanges. The move, outlined in Release No. 9145-25, lets designated contract markets list spot Bitcoin and other digital asset contracts under the agency’s existing commodity rules rather than pushing that activity offshore. Commissioner Caroline D. Pham said the goal is to provide safe U.S. markets with full federal oversight instead of leaving retail traders on foreign platforms.
The new framework requires exchanges to apply standard futures-style safeguards to spot crypto, including market surveillance, risk controls, and customer-protection measures. By treating these products as listed contracts on registered venues, the CFTC brings them directly inside its enforcement and compliance perimeter. The decision follows Pham’s Aug. 4 Listed Spot Crypto Trading Initiative, which asked for public feedback on how to list spot crypto under Section 2(c)(2)(D) of the Commodity Exchange Act and Part 40 rules for exchange filings.
Regulators also tied the change to broader coordination with the Securities and Exchange Commission. On Sept. 2, staff from both agencies issued a joint statement under the SEC’s Project Crypto and the CFTC’s Crypto Sprint, explaining how certain spot digital asset products could trade on registered exchanges when they involve leveraged or margined retail commodity transactions. Together, the August initiative, the September joint statement and the Dec. 4 notice form the current rule set that opens listed spot crypto trading on U.S. CFTC exchanges.
