On November 18, CFTC Acting Chair Caroline Pham spoke at an industry conference on futures and options where she highlighted the agency’s recent progress and outlined forthcoming steps on, and its regulatory approach to, digital assets and its market structure. Pham described blockchain technology and tokenization as ushering in a “structural modernization” of financial market infrastructure, drawing parallels to the “electronification” of markets in previous decades.

Pham reviewed the CFTC’s “Crypto Sprint,” a 12-month initiative launched to implement recommendations from the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets. Key priorities of the initiative included: (i) enabling listed spot crypto trading on designated contract markets (DCMs); (ii) facilitating the use of tokenized collateral like stablecoins in derivatives markets; and (iii) proposing technical amendments to CFTC regulations to accommodate the use of blockchain technology and tokenization in derivatives markets. Pham indicated that she expected listed spot crypto trading on DCMs before the year ends and guidance for tokenized collateral by early 2026.

The remarks detailed several recent rescissions of proposed rules and staff advisories to reduce regulatory burdens and support innovation. Pham noted the agency is considering how qualified payment stablecoins under the GENIUS Act (previously covered by InfoBytes here) could be employed as margin and settlement assets in derivatives markets. Pham’s remarks also highlighted the potential for tokenized money market funds to improve collateral mobility and capital efficiency and encouraged public comments on related regulatory questions.

Referencing increased interagency collaboration between the CFTC and the SEC, namely a recent joint roundtable on regulatory harmonization, Pham pointed to the CLARITY Act and the GENIUS Act as major congressional efforts toward a comprehensive federal framework for digital assets and stablecoins, respectively. She also discussed the importance of cross-border frameworks for non-U.S. exchanges and the use of existing registration categories to avoid market fragmentation.