CFTC Scraps “Actual Delivery” Crypto Playbook From 2020

The CFTC pulled its 2020 staff guidance on “actual delivery,” a key test that can decide whether some retail crypto trades fall under futures-style rules.

CFTC withdraws “actual delivery” crypto guidance it issued in 2020

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has withdrawn staff guidance that explained how the agency interpreted “actual delivery” for retail commodity transactions involving “virtual currencies,” a standard that can determine whether a crypto trade falls under futures-style regulation.

Acting Chairman Caroline D. Pham said on Dec. 11, 2025, that the agency pulled the guidance because crypto markets have changed since it was released and because the prior framework had become outdated and overly complex.

The announcement points to broader CFTC work tied to federal digital-asset policy recommendations, and it says the agency may later consider updated guidance or FAQs while inviting public engagement through its Crypto Sprint.

Why “actual delivery” still drives how some retail crypto trades get regulated

The “actual delivery” concept matters because US law treats certain margined, leveraged, or financed retail commodity transactions “as if” they were futures contracts unless they qualify for the actual-delivery exception. That exception can keep a transaction out of futures-style rules when delivery occurs within the required time window.

In March 2020, the CFTC issued final interpretive guidance focused on retail commodity transactions in virtual currency, describing two main factors it considered when deciding whether actual delivery occurred. Those factors centered on whether the customer obtained possession and control of the full amount purchased and whether the seller and any counterparties kept residual interests or control that undercut delivery.

The CFTC’s Dec. 11 withdrawal removes that specific 2020 staff guidance from the agency’s active playbook, but it does not erase the underlying statutory framework that makes “actual delivery” a key dividing line for certain retail crypto products.