CFTC Opens Door To Spot Crypto Trading On Futures Markets

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The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has launched an initiative to allow spot crypto trading on exchanges registered under it.

CFTC Kicks Off Crypto Sprint With Spot Trading Initiative

In a new press release, CFTC acting chairman Caroline D. Pham has announced an initiative aimed at enabling trading of spot crypto contracts listed on Designated Contract Markets (DCMs) registered under the agency. The CFTC is a US government regulator that oversees derivatives markets in the country. These markets include futures, swaps, and certain types of options.

Last week, the firm announced a “crypto sprint” to begin implementing recommendations outlined in the Digital Assets Report created by the President’s Working Group. The latest initiative marks the first step in CFTC’s sprint. “Under President Trump’s strong leadership and vision, the CFTC is full speed ahead on enabling immediate trading of digital assets at the Federal level in coordination with the SEC’s Project Crypto,” said Pham.

Project Crypto, unveiled last week, refers to the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s plan to make the nation the leader in crypto innovation. The initiative includes drafting clearer rules around token classifications, custody, and trading. Although the CFTC is an independent agency, it appears to be aligning with the SEC to help realize President Donald Trump’s vision of making America the “crypto capital of the world.”

“There is a clear and simple solution the CFTC can implement now,” noted Pham. “The Commodity Exchange Act currently requires that retail trading of commodities with leverage, margin, or financing must be conducted on a DCM.” The regulator has invited stakeholders for feedback on how spot crypto contracts can be listed on registered futures exchanges under the current rules.

Despite the regulatory clarity surrounding digital assets that came out last week, American institutional sentiment still turned bearish as the Coinbase Premium Gap dipped into the negative territory.

The Coinbase Premium Gap is an indicator that measures the difference between the Bitcoin price listed on Coinbase (USD pair) and that on Binance (USDT pair). Since the former is the preferred platform of large US-based investors, the metric is often considered a reflection of how the behavior of these whales differs from the rest of the market.

The indicator turning negative suggests that higher selling pressure or lower buying pressure has brought BTC down on Coinbase relative to Binance. Though while the metric was red earlier, it has now returned to the positive region, as CryptoQuant author IT Tech has pointed out in an X post.

The trend in the BTC Coinbase Premium Gap over the past month | Source: IT Tech on X

The analyst explains that the trend is “a good sign that demand is picking up again in the US market, especially from institutions and big players.”

Bitcoin Price

Bitcoin recovered to $115,700 on Monday, but it appears the coin has seen a setback as its price is back at $114,000.

Looks like the price of the crypto has gone down over the past few days | Source: BTCUSDT on TradingView

Featured image from Dall-E, CryptoQuant.com, chart from TradingView.com

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