CFTC-licensed Futures Exchanges to Launch Spot Crypto Trading

• The CFTC has announced changes to its policy.
• The Commission has approved the trading of spot crypto products on licensed exchanges.

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The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said that futures exchanges with its license will be able to trade spot crypto products. This is part of the federal government’s efforts to integrate digital assets into the TradFi sphere.

The CFTC considered such a possibility back in August 2025. At that time, it was talking about launching leveraged trading of crypto assets, i.e. leverage or margin, on contract markets (DCMs).

In comments to Bloomberg, Better Markets director of securities policy Benjamin Shiffrin complained that the CFTC’s statement was confusing. He said the Commission didn’t bother to clarify exactly what it was referring to.

The statement quotes Pham citing a congressional decision that leveraged retail trading in commodities can only take place on futures exchanges.

Meanwhile, the Crypto Market Structure in the United States (CLARITY) bill would introduce a classification of digital assets, dividing them into commodities and investment contracts. It is possible that this decision is a preparation for the possible implementation of a regulatory framework in the future.

Also in early December 2025, it was reported that the derivatives exchange Bitnomial plans to launch spot trading of crypto-assets.