U.S. Futures Exchange Launches “Crypto Sprint” Initiative in Collaboration with SEC to Implement Trump’s Cryptocurrency Policy Blueprint

U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Acting Chair Caroline Pham announced last weekend that the agency will launch an initiative called “Crypto Sprint,” aimed at implementing the recommendations from the White House report on cryptocurrency policy.

Pham stated that the CFTC will closely collaborate with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins and Commissioner Hester Peirce regarding the “Project Crypto” announced last week. She remarked:

The purpose of these actions is to implement specific recommendations directed at various regulatory bodies from the Trump administration’s “Presidential Working Group on Digital Asset Markets,” which stemmed from an executive order on cryptocurrency signed by Trump in January.

18 Recommendations to the CFTC

The Trump cryptocurrency working group submitted 18 recommendations to the CFTC, two of which directly pertain to the agency. The first direct request is to advance a series of actions, including providing guidance on how cryptocurrencies may be classified as commodities, clarifying how their registration requirements would interact with decentralized finance (DeFi), and offering guidelines for entities regulated by the CFTC to engage in crypto activities. Another task involves assessing how to modify rules to accommodate blockchain-based derivative financial products.

The remaining 16 recommendations related to the CFTC involve other financial regulatory bodies, such as the SEC and the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Some recommendations call for collaboration between the CFTC and SEC, including coordinating the rule-making process and leveraging their existing authority to provide comprehensive and clear regulatory frameworks. The two agencies are also urged to establish a regulatory sandbox and explore ways to enable registered entities to offer multiple services within a single user interface in long-term planning.

Additionally, several recommendations request Congress to clarify the division of responsibilities between the CFTC and SEC in cryptocurrency regulation. The report indicates that the CFTC should be granted “clear authority to regulate the spot market for non-security digital assets.”