CFTC's new rules allow cryptocurrencies to be used as collateral for derivatives. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDC officially join the US financial system.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) will allow the use of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the USD-pegged stablecoin USDC as collateral for derivative trading. This decision further integrates cryptocurrencies into the infrastructure of the U.S. financial system. This initiative, introduced as a pilot program, was announced in the form of two staff advisory letters and a no-action letter sent to Coinbase, applicable to futures commission merchants, swap market participants, and clearinghouses. The collateral guidance also includes tokenized versions of U.S. Treasury bonds and money market funds, with clear requirements for asset segregation, reporting, and monitoring. Ryne Miller, a partner at the law firm Lowenstein Sandler, stated, "It is encouraging to see the U.S. continue to intentionally focus on creating a clear path for innovation in the derivatives market." Tokenized assets refer to the digital representation of real-world assets or financial assets on a blockchain (a digital ledger). While they do not represent direct ownership of the assets themselves, supporters believe that this process will increase liquidity, enable fractional ownership of assets, and potentially make it easier for foreign investors to access the U.S. market. Last week, Acting Chair Caroline Pham announced that exchanges regulated by the CFTC can begin trading spot cryptocurrency on derivative trading platforms. Typically, the agency only regulates derivative products and not their underlying assets unless there is fraud or manipulation involved.