Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Founded	1974
Headquarters	Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street, NW, Washington, DC 20581
Products	Federal commodity derivatives regulator
Key People	Michael Selig, Chairman
Twitter	@cftc
youtube	CFTC
facebook	cftcgov
LinkedIn	Profile
Web site	www.cftc.gov

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is an independent federal regulatory agency established in 1974 that oversees the U.S. derivatives markets, including futures, options, and swaps, with a mission to protect market participants from fraud and manipulation while ensuring market integrity. It is currently led by Chairman Michael Selig.

Following the 2025 presidential transition, President Donald Trump designated Caroline D. Pham as acting chairman of the CFTC on January 20, 2025, after Rostin Behnam resigned; Behnam had served as the agency's 15th chairman since January 2022. Before her designation as acting chairman, Pham had served as a commissioner since April 14, 2022, after President Joe Biden nominated her and the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed her.

President Trump initially nominated Brian Quintenz, a former CFTC commissioner, to serve as chairman in February 2025. However, Quintenz's confirmation faced significant obstacles, including opposition from prominent cryptocurrency industry figures Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, who expressed concerns about his alignment with the administration's crypto agenda. The Trump administration formally withdrew Quintenz's nomination on September 30, 2025, with a White House official stating that "President Trump has made it a priority to make America the crypto capital of the world, and in doing so has called for the revitalization of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to play a larger role in securing this promise." The administration indicated it would announce a new nominee "in the near future." On October 25, 2025, President Trump nominated corporate lawyer and former CFTC law clerk Michael S. Selig to the position. Selig was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on December 18, 2025, and officially sworn in as the 16th chairman of the CFTC on December 22, 2025.

In 2026, the CFTC’s Chicago office, which once housed the agency's top market enforcers, went from about 20 trial lawyers to none. After Caroline Pham was elevated from CFTC commissioner to acting chair, she carried out a sweeping reorganization of the enforcement division, closing about half of its open cases—sometimes without consulting the teams involved—in a campaign against what she called “regulation by enforcement.”

In fiscal year 2024, the CFTC brought 58 enforcement actions and won a record $17.1 billion in monetary relief. In fiscal year 2025, the agency brought 13 enforcement actions resulting in less than $10 million, according to CFTC news releases.

Mission

The core mission of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is to promote the integrity, resilience, and vibrancy of the U.S. derivatives markets through sound regulation. It is tasked with protecting market users and the public from fraud, manipulation, and abusive practices related to the trading of physical commodities, financial futures, options, and swaps, while fostering open, competitive, and financially sound markets.

The agency was created in 1974 when Congress passed the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Act, which was signed into law by President Gerald Ford. This established the CFTC as an independent agency, replacing the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Commodity Exchange Authority, in response to the rapid growth and increasing complexity of agricultural and financial futures trading.

In the decades following its inception, the CFTC's regulatory purview expanded significantly. While initially focused on traditional agricultural commodities, its oversight grew to encompass complex financial derivatives. Following the 2008 global financial crisis, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 fundamentally transformed the agency's scope by granting it comprehensive regulatory authority over the previously unregulated over-the-counter (OTC) swaps market, an industry nominally valued in the hundreds of trillions of dollars.

In the 2020s, the CFTC's jurisdiction and strategic focus shifted once again with the explosive growth of digital assets and cryptocurrencies. Following the 2025 presidential transition, the CFTC's mission was heavily influenced by a broader administrative mandate to establish the United States as the "crypto capital of the world." Under this new framework, the agency balanced its traditional focus on strict market enforcement with a revitalization effort to foster financial innovation, clear a regulatory path for digital commodities, and encourage the integration of crypto assets into regulated traditional markets.

History

The roots of U.S. derivatives regulation began with the Grain Futures Act of 1922 and the Commodity Exchange Act of 1936, which originally placed regulatory oversight under the Commodity Exchange Authority (CEA), a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. However, as the futures industry expanded beyond agricultural goods into complex financial instruments, Congress passed the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Act of 1974. This legislation abolished the CEA and established the CFTC as an independent federal agency with an expanded mandate to regulate all commodity futures and options markets in the United States.

William T. Bagley, a lawyer appointed by President Gerald Ford, served as the agency's first chairman from 1975 to 1978. Early in his tenure, Bagley established the CFTC's rigorous oversight philosophy during a keynote address at a press dinner on the Chicago Board of Trade's trading floor. Addressing industry skepticism, he warned the crowd that if anything "Mickey Mouse" was going on in the futures industry, he would "cut off Mickey's ears." Successive early leaders, including James M. Stone and Susan M. Phillips (the agency's first female chair), guided the CFTC through periods of immense innovation, navigating the controversial introduction of cash-settled contracts and stock index futures in the late 1970s and early 1980s. To further bolster market integrity during this growth phase, the CFTC oversaw the 1982 creation of the National Futures Association (NFA), an independent self-regulatory organization designated to enforce strict compliance across the derivatives industry.

In the late 1990s, the CFTC became the center of a pivotal regulatory battle under Chairperson Brooksley Born. Recognizing the systemic risks posed by the rapidly growing and entirely unregulated over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives market, particularly swaps, Born issued a concept release exploring CFTC oversight of these instruments. However, her warnings faced fierce and highly publicized opposition from other top financial regulators, including Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan and Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, who argued that regulation would stifle financial innovation. Following Born's resignation in 1999, Congress passed the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 (CFMA), which explicitly prohibited the CFTC from regulating the OTC swaps market.

Following the 2008 global financial crisis—which exposed the exact systemic vulnerabilities in the unregulated swaps market that Born had warned about a decade earlier—Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act on July 21, 2010. Under the leadership of Chairman Gary Gensler, the CFTC aggressively implemented Dodd-Frank's mandate, which largely reversed the CFMA's exclusions. This granted the agency comprehensive jurisdiction over the multi-trillion-dollar swaps market, fundamentally transforming the regulator's size, scope, and enforcement capabilities.

In the late 2010s, under Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo (often dubbed "Crypto Dad" for his early engagement with digital asset markets), the CFTC shifted its focus toward financial technology. In May 2017, the agency introduced LabCFTC, a dedicated fintech initiative designed to promote responsible financial innovation and allow the regulator to engage directly with emerging market technologies. As digital assets gained mainstream traction, the CFTC launched a dedicated virtual currency resource page (cftc.gov/bitcoin) on December 15, 2017, serving as a repository for commission-produced cryptocurrency guidance.

To keep pace with the rapidly evolving digital landscape, LabCFTC was formally restructured in 2022 into the Office of Technology Innovation (OTI). This elevated office was designed to integrate crypto expertise directly into the CFTC's core regulatory framework and explore the application of artificial intelligence in market surveillance.

Cross-Border Agreements and CCP Equivalence

In the years following the 2008 financial crisis, global leaders mandated sweeping reforms to the derivatives markets. In the U.S., this took the form of the Dodd-Frank Act, while Europe implemented the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR). However, implementing these parallel frameworks created significant jurisdictional friction. Under the leadership of Chairman Gary Gensler, the CFTC took an aggressive stance in 2013 regarding cross-border guidance, asserting that U.S. regulations should apply to overseas entities trading with U.S. persons. This extraterritorial reach sparked three years of sometimes bitter and highly politicized talks between the U.S. and Europe over competing standards and overlapping jurisdictions.

The impasse broke under Gensler's successor, Chairman Timothy Massad, who prioritized diplomatic engagement and regulatory harmonization. Following extensive negotiations with European Commissioner for Financial Stability Jonathan Hill, the CFTC and the European Commission announced a breakthrough "common approach" to clearinghouse requirements in February 2016. This landmark agreement paved the way for European regulators to grant equivalence to U.S. central counterparties (CCPs), resolving the transatlantic standoff.

The 2016 accord allowed European CCPs to do business in the U.S. more easily and permitted U.S. CCPs to continue providing critical clearing services to EU companies. Without this equivalence ruling, European banks would have faced punitively high capital requirements when using American clearinghouses. Ultimately, the resolution resulted in millions of dollars in daily savings from the collateral derivatives dealers were required to post.

Following the February announcement, the European Commission officially adopted the equivalence decision in March 2016. This formal approval came well ahead of the critical June 21, 2016 deadline, when the mandatory clearing obligation for interest rate swaps took effect in the EU, averting a major disruption in global liquidity.

Later administrations built on the foundation of mutual reliance established by Massad. In 2020, under Chairman Heath Tarbert, the CFTC finalized a more comprehensive cross-border regulatory framework that further institutionalized "substituted compliance," ensuring that foreign derivatives clearinghouses subject to comparable regulations in their home countries would not be burdened by duplicative CFTC oversight.

How the CFTC Is Organized

The CFTC consists of five commissioners appointed by the president, with the Senate's advice and consent, to serve staggered five-year terms. With Senate consent, the president designates one commissioner to serve as CFTC chairman. By law, no more than three commissioners may be affiliated with the same political party at any one time.

The CFTC's organizational structure includes the offices of the Chairman and Commissioners, along with 14 operating divisions and offices. Chairman Michael Selig (confirmed in December 2025) leads the agency as chief executive, directing day-to-day management and coordinating the commission's business and regulatory agenda. The Executive Leadership Team consists of the heads of each operating division and office, the agency's Chief of Staff/Chief Operating Officer, and the Chairman.

The 14 operating divisions and offices currently include:

• Division of Clearing and Risk (DCR)
• Division of Enforcement (DOE), which includes the Whistleblower Office
• Division of Market Oversight (DMO)
• Market Participants Division (MPD)
• Division of Data (DOD)
• Office of the General Counsel (OGC)
• Division of Administration (DA)
• Office of the Chief Economist (OCE)
• Office of International Affairs (OIA)
• Office of Public Affairs (OPA)
• Office of Technology Innovation (OTI)
• Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs (OLIA)
• Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI)
• Office of Customer and Education Outreach (OCEO)

The agency relies heavily on its division directors to execute its sweeping regulatory, surveillance, and enforcement mandates. Notable recent division heads have included Clark Hutchison, the long-serving director of the Division of Clearing and Risk; Vince McGonagle, the veteran head of the Division of Market Oversight; and David Miller, who was appointed director of Enforcement in 2026 to lead the division following its massive internal reorganization under the previous acting chair.

Historically, the CFTC's organizational structure has continuously evolved to reflect changing market conditions and regulatory needs. Earlier incarnations included the Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight, which was reorganized into the current Market Participants Division to better address the regulatory landscape following the Dodd-Frank Act. The Division of Data was established in 2020 to replace the data functions previously housed within the Division of Market Oversight, reflecting the agency's increased modern focus on data-driven regulation, cloud computing, and analytics.

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) operates as an independent organizational unit within the CFTC with the mission to detect fraud, waste, and abuse, while promoting integrity, economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in the Commission's programs and operations. The Chairman's staff also retains direct responsibility for public information, interaction with governmental agencies and Congress, and preparing Commission documents, including Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) responsiveness.

Headquarters and Regional Offices

The CFTC has historically maintained its headquarters in Washington, D.C., at Three Lafayette Centre, alongside regional offices in Chicago (covering the Central and Southwestern regions), New York (Eastern region), and Kansas City (Central region).

The agency had long planned a significant headquarters relocation to Patriots Plaza III in southwest Washington, D.C., initially scheduled for completion in March 2026. The move was designed to downsize the CFTC's footprint by approximately 49% to accommodate expanded telework and alternative work arrangements. However, by May 2026, the agency began quietly reconsidering the Patriots Plaza destination in favor of co-locating with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) at Station Place near Union Station. This potential pivot was weighed not only to address an expiring lease gap and real-estate efficiency but to facilitate smoother daily coordination between the two regulators on overlapping market jurisdictions, particularly in the rapidly evolving digital assets space.

CFTC Budget & Enforcement Results

The CFTC's annual budget and enforcement outcomes reflect shifting strategic priorities, an evolving market jurisdiction, and leadership mandates. Over the past decade, the agency's funding has grown gradually to accommodate its vastly expanded jurisdiction over the swaps market (following the Dodd-Frank Act) and the rapid emergence of complex digital assets.

Despite relatively flat congressional appropriations between 2023 and 2024, the CFTC achieved record-breaking monetary recoveries in FY 2024, driven largely by major enforcement actions against fraudulent cryptocurrency platforms such as FTX and Binance. However, following a sweeping internal reorganization of the enforcement division in 2025 under Acting Chair Caroline D. Pham, the agency's enforcement output and monetary sanctions dropped dramatically as its focus shifted away from "regulation by enforcement" toward fostering financial innovation.

CFTC Annual Budget

• 2024: $365 million (enacted via continuing resolution)
• 2023: $365 million (enacted) / $392 million (requested)[39]
• 2022: $382 million (enacted)
• 2021: $304 million
• 2020: $284 million
• 2019: $268 million
• 2018: $249 million
• 2017: $250 million[40]
• 2016: $250 million[41]
• 2015: $250 million[42]
• 2014: $215 million
• 2013: $215 million[43]
• 2012: $205.2 million[44]
• 2011: $169 million[45]
• 2010: $168.8 million[46]
• 2009: $146 million[47]
• 2008: $111 million

Total Monetary Sanctions for Fiscal Year

• 2025: <$10 million (13 enforcement actions)
• 2024: $17.1 billion (Record year, including a $12.7 billion judgment against FTX)
• 2023: $4.3 billion (96 enforcement actions)
• 2022: $2.5 billion (82 enforcement actions)
• 2020: $1.3 billion
• 2019: $1.3 billion
• 2018: $950 million
• 2017: $413 million
• 2016: $1.29 billion
• 2015: $3.14 billion
• 2014: $3.27 billion

Major Operating Units

Division of Clearing and Risk (DCR) The functions of the Division of Clearing and Risk include the rigorous oversight of derivatives clearing organizations (DCOs), monitoring the financial integrity of registrants, customer fund protection, stock-index margin enforcement, and assessing systemic risk in the global clearing ecosystem. The division ensures DCOs maintain robust risk management frameworks, particularly amid modern challenges such as 24/7 crypto clearing models and heightened cybersecurity threats.

Division of Market Oversight (DMO) The Division of Market Oversight has regulatory responsibility for the initial recognition and continuing oversight of trade execution facilities, primarily registered futures exchanges (Designated Contract Markets, or DCMs) and Swap Execution Facilities (SEFs). The Division's regulatory functions include comprehensive market surveillance, trade practice reviews and investigations, rule enforcement reviews, evaluation of new product-related and market-related rule amendments, and oversight of emerging markets like event contracts and prediction markets.

Market Participants Division (MPD) Created in 2020 following a structural reorganization that retired the former Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (DSIO), the Market Participants Division oversees the registration and compliance of intermediaries and futures industry self-regulatory organizations (SROs), including U.S. derivatives exchanges and the National Futures Association (NFA). MPD is responsible for monitoring compliance with regulations addressing capital adequacy, margin requirements, and business conduct for swap dealers, major swap participants, futures commission merchants (FCMs), and introducing brokers.

Division of Enforcement (DOE) The Division of Enforcement investigates and prosecutes alleged violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations. Violations may involve commodity futures or option trading on domestic commodity exchanges, the improper marketing of commodity investments, spoofing, manipulation, or fraud in digital asset markets. The Division may file complaints before the agency's administrative law judges or in U.S. District Courts, and can refer alleged criminal violations to the Justice Department. In 2026, the division underwent a sweeping reorganization under Acting Chair Caroline D. Pham, shifting away from "regulation by enforcement." It is currently led by Director of Enforcement David I. Miller.

Division of Data (DOD) Established in October 2020, the Division of Data replaced the former data functions housed elsewhere in the agency, reflecting the CFTC's increased focus on data-driven regulation and analytics. DOD leads the agency's enterprise data strategy, swap data reporting compliance, and the use of cloud infrastructure and big data tools to strengthen the CFTC's market surveillance and enforcement capabilities.

Office of the General Counsel (OGC) / Legal Division The Office of the General Counsel serves as the Commission's chief legal advisor. OGC staff represent the Commission in appellate litigation and certain trial-level cases, including bankruptcy proceedings that involve futures industry professionals. As the Commission’s legal advisor, OGC reviews all substantive regulatory, legislative, and administrative matters presented to it, advising the Commission on the application and interpretation of the Commodity Exchange Act and other administrative statutes. In January 2026, Tyler Badgley was appointed to lead the division as general counsel.

Division of Administration (DA) The Division of Administration, led by the Office of the Executive Director (OED), formulates and implements the management and administrative policies of the agency. OED staff formulate the agency's budget, supervise the allocation and use of agency resources, promote management controls and financial integrity, and develop the agency's automated information systems. The Office of Proceedings, which falls under OED's administrative direction, provides an inexpensive and expeditious forum for handling customer complaints against registrants through its reparations program, and hears enforcement cases brought by the commission.

Office of Chief Economist (OCE) The Office of the Chief Economist is an independent office responsible for providing expert economic advice to the commission. Its functions include rigorous policy analysis, economic research on market trends, expert testimony, and training. OCE plays a critical role in conducting cost-benefit analyses for new CFTC rulemakings and assessing the economic impact of regulatory shifts.

Office of International Affairs (OIA) Created on July 23, 1997, the Office of International Affairs ensures the CFTC stays abreast of global changes in the derivatives industry. OIA coordinates the agency's leading role in international initiatives, manages cross-border regulatory frameworks (such as CCP equivalence and substituted compliance), and serves as the primary liaison with foreign regulatory counterparts and international standard-setting bodies.

Office of Technology Innovation (OTI) In July 2022, Chairman Rostin Behnam evolved the agency's former LabCFTC initiative into the elevated Office of Technology Innovation. OTI serves as the CFTC's innovation hub, focusing on integrating financial technology expertise—particularly regarding digital assets, decentralized finance (DeFi), and artificial intelligence—directly into the CFTC's core regulatory framework.

Climate Risk Unit (CRU) Initially established on March 17, 2021, by Acting Chairman Rostin Behnam, the Climate Risk Unit was formed to focus on the role of derivatives in understanding, pricing, and addressing climate-related risk and the transition to a low-carbon economy. However, the unit became a target of shifting administrative priorities. In early 2026, Chairman Michael Selig officially dismantled the CRU, arguing that climate-related financial risk was not a distinct regulatory category under the Commodity Exchange Act and asserting that the agency needed to return to its core market oversight mandate.

Reports

To promote market transparency, ensure financial integrity, and provide critical insights into participant positions, the CFTC regularly issues a variety of weekly, monthly, and annual reports. The most notable publications include:

• Commitments of Traders (COT) Reports: The agency's most widely followed data release, published every Friday at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The COT reports provide a detailed breakdown of each Tuesday's open interest for futures and options markets. To enhance transparency, the data is split into multiple formats, including the Legacy report (commercial vs. non-commercial), the Disaggregated report for physical commodities (Producer/Merchant, Swap Dealers, Managed Money), and the Traders in Financial Futures (TFF) report, which categorizes positions across Dealers, Asset Managers, Leveraged Funds, and Other Reportables.
• Cotton On-Call Report: A weekly report that tracks the quantity of "call cotton" bought or sold by merchants where the price has not yet been fixed. The report details these unfixed call cotton purchases and sales alongside the respective futures contracts on which the transaction is based.
• Bank Participation in the Futures and Options Markets: A monthly report illustrating the aggregate positions of banks in U.S. futures and options markets. It details the number of banks holding reportable positions and the gross and net open interest held by both domestic and foreign commercial banks, offering clear transparency into the banking sector's commodities and derivatives exposure.
• Financial Data for FCMs: Issued monthly, this report details selected financial data for registered Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs) and Retail Foreign Exchange Dealers (RFEDs). It provides a crucial window into the financial health of market intermediaries by reporting metrics such as net capital, adjusted net capital, excess net capital, customer segregated funds, and cleared swaps customer collateral.
• CFTC Weekly Swaps Report: Introduced to provide systemic visibility following the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act, this report offers a granular view of the global swaps market. It covers trading volume, notional outstanding amounts, and participant activity across major asset classes, including interest rate, credit, equity, foreign exchange, and commodity swaps.

CFTC Cautions and Advisories

The CFTC's Office of Customer Education and Outreach (OCEO) is dedicated to helping market participants and the general public identify, avoid, and report financial fraud. Through its ongoing public awareness campaigns, the OCEO frequently issues targeted "Customer Advisories" to warn retail investors about emerging scams, deceptive marketing, and predatory tactics in the commodities, futures, and digital asset markets.

Notable recent customer advisories include:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Scams: On January 25, 2024, the CFTC issued a widespread customer advisory warning the public about a sharp rise in artificial intelligence-driven financial scams. The alert highlighted how fraudsters exploit the hype surrounding AI to lure investors into bogus crypto-asset arbitrage algorithms, automated trading bots, and schemes promising "guaranteed" high returns. The agency explicitly cautioned that AI technology cannot predict market movements or guarantee profits, urging investors to view claims of AI-generated wealth as a massive red flag. Romance and "Pig Butchering" Fraud: As digital asset fraud escalated, the CFTC has repeatedly warned the public about relationship-based investment schemes. Fraudsters cultivate long-term online relationships—often originating on dating apps, social media, or via "accidental" text messages—to build emotional trust. Once trust is established, they manipulate victims into investing their savings into fraudulent cryptocurrency platforms or unregistered commodity pools, ultimately draining their accounts. Precious Metals and "IRA-Approved" Scams: The CFTC frequently issues alerts regarding deceptive practices surrounding physical precious metals (gold, silver, palladium) and cryptocurrency retirement accounts. These advisories specifically warn against high-pressure sales tactics aimed at retirees, cautioning them against fraudsters who push overpriced metal coins or falsely claim that certain speculative investments are uniquely "IRS-approved" or "IRA-approved" by the government. Carbon Market Misconduct: Aligning with the agency's increased oversight of environmental financial products, the CFTC issued alerts regarding the voluntary carbon markets. The advisory encourages whistleblowers to report fraud, manipulation, or deceptive practices—such as "ghost" credits, wash trading, or double-counting—surrounding the buying and selling of carbon credits and offsets.

Bitcoin and Ether Derivatives

The CFTC has continually expanded its regulatory oversight over Bitcoin and Ether derivatives and, increasingly, their spot markets. Following a 2018 federal court ruling that all virtual currencies fall under the Commodity Exchange Act's definition of a commodity, the CFTC steadily expanded its authority over digital assets listed on registered exchanges.

The Commission initially used this authority to pursue outright fraud. For example, the agency brought high-profile actions against My Big Coin Pay Inc. and its founder, Randall Crater, who was subsequently indicted for wire fraud and unlawful monetary transactions tied to misleading virtual currency claims.

The outcome of CFTC v. My Big Coin Pay and subsequent federal decisions firmly established that virtual currencies are commodities subject to federal anti-fraud standards.

The agency’s anti-fraud efforts faced legal challenges regarding the scope of its enforcement power. In Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. Monex Credit Co., an initial district court ruling held that the CFTC’s authority to bring fraud cases required evidence of both fraud and market manipulation. This interpretation temporarily threatened to limit CFTC actions to situations involving explicit market manipulation. However, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decisively overturned this view in July 2019. The appellate panel confirmed that Section 6(c)(1) of the CEA unambiguously authorized the CFTC to pursue standalone fraud cases against commodities dealers without the need to prove simultaneous manipulation.

From 2022 onwards, the CFTC significantly expanded its supervision of bitcoin and ether futures and options. The agency supported new product launches, including perpetual contracts and continuous bitcoin and ether futures, on designated contract markets (DCMs) such as Coinbase Derivatives, Bitnomial, and Cboe Digital. These products are subject to strict federal standards for market surveillance, capital requirements, customer protections, and anti-fraud compliance.?

The U.S. digital asset regulatory landscape shifted dramatically in 2025. In August of that year, the CFTC, in coordination with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), formally permitted the spot trading of bitcoin and ether directly on exchanges registered under federal jurisdiction. This required venues to comply with comprehensive federal market rules to offer both derivatives and spot digital asset contracts—representing a massive shift away from state-level money transmitter licenses and fragmented regulatory oversight toward a unified, federally supervised system.

This policy culminated on December 4, 2025, when CFTC Acting Chairman Caroline D. Pham announced that listed spot cryptocurrency products would begin trading for the first time in U.S. markets on CFTC-regulated futures exchanges. The regulatory approval—which saw platforms like Bitnomial launch the first unified margin exchanges for leveraged spot, perpetuals, futures, and options—marked a major milestone in the Trump Administration’s stated mandate to make America the “crypto capital of the world”. By combining the capital efficiency of portfolio margining with established U.S. derivatives market infrastructure, the move was designed to give retail and institutional traders safe, regulated domestic alternatives to offshore exchanges.

Bitcoin

The CFTC's relationship with Bitcoin and other digital assets began with establishing foundational regulatory jurisdiction, leading to the creation of massive institutional derivatives markets and some of the largest enforcement actions in the agency's history.

In September 2014, the CFTC permitted TeraExchange, a swap execution facility (SEF), to certify that its bitcoin swap complied with requirements under the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA). This action implicitly affirmed bitcoin’s status as a commodity within the CFTC’s regulatory jurisdiction. Later that year, in Congressional testimony, then-Chairman Tim Massad explicitly stated his view that bitcoin was a commodity, acknowledging the broad definition of commodities under the CEA.

The Commission formally cemented this stance in 2015 when it settled an enforcement action against Coinflip, Inc., a company that had provided options on bitcoin through its Derivabit platform without registering as an SEF or designated contract market.. The CFTC's September 2015 order was the first time the agency officially declared that bitcoin and other virtual currencies are properly defined as commodities.

The CFTC continued to apply this jurisdiction to unregistered platforms, settling a case against Bitfinex in 2016 for offering illegal off-exchange financed retail commodity transactions and failing to register as a futures commission merchant (FCM).

Federal courts soon backed the CFTC's interpretation. On March 6, 2018, U.S. District Judge Jack Weinstein of the Eastern District of New York ruled in CFTC v. Patrick K. McDonnell and CabbageTech, Corp. that virtual currencies are commodities under the CEA, granting the CFTC broad authority to pursue fraud actions even in spot cryptocurrency markets.

With jurisdiction established, the CFTC oversaw the rapid institutionalization of bitcoin derivatives. On December 1, 2017, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and the Cboe Futures Exchange (CFE) officially self-certified the launch of cash-settled bitcoin futures contracts. The launch, greenlit under Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo, paved the way for institutional adoption. This was followed by the launch of physically delivered bitcoin futures by Bakkt in September 2019, and the introduction of highly popular Micro Bitcoin futures by the CME in May 2021.

As the bitcoin derivatives market exploded in size, so did the CFTC's enforcement scope over offshore and unregistered platforms. This culminated in November 2023, when the CFTC secured a massive $2.85 billion settlement with the global cryptocurrency exchange Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao. The enforcement action penalized the exchange for the willful evasion of the CEA and operating an illegal digital asset derivatives exchange, marking one of the largest corporate penalties in the agency's history and asserting the CFTC's global reach over bitcoin trading platforms servicing U.S. customers.

Ether

In December 2018, the CFTC issued an official 60-day Request for Information (RFI) inviting public comment and feedback on the mechanics, technology, and markets for virtual currencies beyond bitcoin, notably including Ether and its use within the Ethereum network. The agency announced that insights from this RFI would contribute to developing oversight and regulatory policy for digital asset markets. The Commission offered several methods for the submission of public input, including a mailing address and access to its public comments website.

On October 10, 2019, before any formal rulemaking, CFTC Chairman Heath Tarbert publicly stated at the Yahoo! Finance All Markets Summit that “Ether is a commodity” in his view, clarifying the CFTC’s regulatory stance. He emphasized that the Commission was cooperative with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on regulatory matters regarding both bitcoin and ether, and that neither agency regarded these assets as securities. Tarbert also stated that the CFTC would be prepared to approve ether futures. Later, at DC Fintech Week, Tarbert further articulated that a digital asset could reclassify between a security and a commodity based on network and usage factors.

Despite the explicit guidance, in November 2020, Tarbert said the CFTC and SEC were still evaluating regulatory approaches for future changes to the Ethereum network, such as the Ethereum 2.0 upgrade, which would transition ether from a proof-of-work to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism.

On May 11, 2020, ErisX, a designated contract market (DCM), began offering physically settled ether futures contracts, marking the first listing of such contracts on a regulated U.S. DCM or SEF. These ether futures are available in contracts priced both in U.S. dollars and in bitcoin, calling for the delivery of one ether per contract. The contracts feature monthly and quarterly settlement cycles, and minimum block trade sizes are specified for institutional market participation.

The CFTC has approved the listing of perpetual and continuous ether derivatives on federally supervised exchanges and has partnered with the SEC in joint harmonization initiatives to establish unified regulatory standards for digital assets, including ether, across spot and derivatives markets.

Digital asset derivatives

The CFTC has progressively clarified and expanded its regulatory framework for digital asset derivatives, beginning with its decision to permit TeraExchange to certify its bitcoin swap contract for trading as a swap execution facility (SEF). TeraExchange received permanent registration from the CFTC on May 26, 2016. The North American Derivatives Exchange (Nadex), a designated contract market (DCM), added self-certified bitcoin binary contracts on its trading platform in November 2014.

LedgerX applied for, and later received, registration as both a SEF and a derivatives clearing organization in July 2017, enabling it to list and clear physically delivered bitcoin swaps and options. LedgerX reported its first bitcoin swaps trading on October 16, 2017, marking a milestone for physically settled crypto derivatives on a regulated U.S. platform. Its compliance program and rules are publicly posted.

On December 1 and December 17, 2017, respectively, the Cboe Futures Exchange (CFE) and the CME Group launched cash-settled bitcoin futures contracts certified with the CFTC. The introduction of these contracts prompted concerns from futures commission merchants and industry representatives, leading to public letters from the Futures Industry Association (FIA) requesting increased diligence around market integrity, surveillance, and collateral requirements.

In response, the CFTC issued staff advisories to exchanges and clearinghouses in 2018, underscoring the need for robust market surveillance and financial risk management for certified cryptocurrency products. The agency has also published guidance for futures commission merchants regarding the holding and management of virtual currencies in segregated accounts and the design of firm-specific risk management programs.

The CFTC’s ongoing agenda now includes collaborative regulatory initiatives with the SEC, such as harmonization efforts to create unified standards and rule proposals for digital asset market intermediaries, event contracts, and derivatives—including perpetual digital asset contracts—on federally supervised exchanges. The Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act and related rulemakings are establishing new pathways for registration, supervision, segregation of customer assets, and consumer protection standards for digital asset futures, swaps, and options.

Current regulatory advancements also reflect industry feedback from regulated entities and custodians, and continue to promote innovation, clarity, and effective risk management in the evolving digital asset derivatives ecosystem.

In October 2026, the CFTC unveiled new proposals for regulating cryptocurrency markets, after an effort to pass digital asset legislation through Congress failed in September. The new rules would lay out how existing commodities law applies to transactions involving digital assets and establish a new type of exchange called crypto asset markets that can register with the CFTC solely to trade such assets. These exchanges would specifically handle retail crypto transactions that are traded on a margined, leveraged or financed basis.

Interpretive guidance for "actual delivery"

The CFTC issued final interpretive guidance on March 24, 2020, clarifying the meaning of "actual delivery" for retail commodity transactions involving digital assets. The guidance specifies that for actual delivery to occur in transactions with retail participants—including those involving margin, leverage, or financing—the buyer must secure possession and control over the full amount of the purchased digital asset within 28 days, and the seller must relinquish all interest, claim, or control over the asset.

This interpretive statement also details the nature of custody for both buyers and sellers, establishing that any digital asset held by third-party depositories or custodians must be controlled completely and exclusively by the buyer after delivery. The CFTC guidance applies both to spot digital asset transactions and to transactions where the underlying assets are referenced in derivative contracts.

CFTC enforcement actions and market monitoring practices now reference this standard when reviewing exchange operations and customer protections in the fast-evolving digital asset marketplace, ensuring clarity in regulatory compliance for both trading platforms and market participants.

Education initiatives

The CFTC has undertaken efforts to educate market participants and potential market participants about the specific risks associated with dealing in cryptocurrencies in general and bitcoin specifically. The CFTC provides a website that lists resources that the CFTC has made available to the public. The web page provides brief descriptions of and hyperlinks to a variety of materials including podcasts, customer advisories, primers/backgrounders and brochures.

In July 2018, the CFTC issued a customer advisory to those considering buying digital currency. The document cited the high rate of failure and fraud among new ICOs and the volatility of digital currency prices. It also urged potential consumers to take responsibility for knowing the laws, function, and promises made by those selling them.

Central Bank Digital Currencies

In July 2020, the CFTC's Technology Advisory Committee (TAC) conducted a meeting to discuss virtual currency and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Chris Brummer, Georgetown Law Center professor and faculty director of the Institute of International Economic Law, gave a presentation on central bank digital currencies that included how they could theoretically work and could potentially be issued. He pointed out the rising popularity of stablecoins (which are not the same as CBDCs) and the potential benefits of adopting a "digital dollar," including improved cross-border transactions.

Cryptocurrency enforcement actions

McAfee

On March 5, 2021 the CFTC announced that in its first manipulation case involving digital assets it had charged John McAfee and Jimmy Gale Watson, Jr., McAfee's bodyguard, with engaging in digital asset "pump-and-dumps" involving Verge (XVG), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Reddcoin (RDD). The agency said that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York had obtained an indictment of McAfee and Watson on charges of conspiracy to commit fraud, wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to commit securities touting fraud, and money laundering.

The CFTC said that the two defendants had accumulated positions in purposefully selected digital assets which McAfee would promote ("pump") in social media channels. After the price had risen they would then sell ("dump") the assets at prices they helped inflate.

McAfee, who was a fugitive at the time, had been arrested in Spain on October 5, 2020 on five counts of tax evasion and five counts of failure to file a tax return. The criminal charges were brought by the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. They were filed earlier that year on June 15 and sealed pending arrest. The case was filed in the Western District of Tennessee.

The same day the federal criminal charges were announced, the SEC charged McAfee with failing to disclose that he was paid for his promotions of several ICOs which he highlighted in his Twitter feed. According to the agency, McAfee was paid in cryptocurrencies worth more than $23 million. He was also charged with "scalping" digital asset securities. Scalping is the practice of accumulating securities and then promoting them at the same time as the scalper sells them off in the market.

The October 2020 SEC case against the two was ongoing at the time of the CFTC's complaint.

BitMEX actions

On October 1, 2020 both the CFTC and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced charges against HDR Holdings and its subsidiaries and affiliates which together operate BitMEX, as well as HDR's owner founders, Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo, and Samuel Reed. In its civil complaint, the CFTC accused the defendants of operating an unregistered derivatives trading platform that solicited business from and conducted business with U.S. residents. The CFTC also alleged that BitMEX did not comply with U.S. anti-money laundering requirements. In its indictment that was unsealed the same day, the DOJ charged HDR Holdings, its subsidiaries and affiliates, the three owner founders of HDR, and Gregory Dwyer, the head of business development, with violating and conspiring to violate the Bank Secrecy Act by not implementing an anti-money laundering program. Reed, the CTO, was taken into custody in Massachusetts by federal law enforcement on October 1, 2020, while the other executives remained "at large" in the DOJ's terminology. A week later, BitMEX announced that it had made changes to its leadership, which included Arthur Hayes stepping down as CEO.

In March 2021, a court filing revealed that Hayes had discussed surrendering to U.S. authorities on April 6, 2021; the court filing was tweeted about on Wednesday, March 3 by Pavel Pogodin, a representative for the plaintiffs in civil proceedings against BitMEX and its founders. Hayes, who resides in Singapore, was in the process of discussing arrangements that would allow him to remain living abroad and travel to Hawaii to appear remotely in New York for court appearances, eventually appearing in New York personally, according to a court transcript of Jessica Greenwood, assistant U.S. attorney in Manhattan.

$6.5 million Coinbase penalty

On March 19, 2021, the CFTC announced a settlement with Coinbase following charges that dated back to 2015 through 2018. The CFTC alleged that Coinbase had recklessly delivered false, misleading, or inaccurate transaction reports related to trades in cryptocurrencies including bitcoin and litecoin on its GDAX platform. The Commission's order further found Coinbase vicariously liable for wash trading by a former employee, who engaged in matched trades in the litecoin/bitcoin market, artificially inflating reported trading volume and liquidity.

The settlement required Coinbase to pay a civil monetary penalty of $6.5 million and to cease and desist from further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations. This enforcement action underlined the Commission’s stance on ensuring market integrity and transparency in digital asset trading. At the time, Coinbase’s initial public offering on Nasdaq was pending, making the ruling particularly significant for regulatory compliance in advance of public listing. The CFTC’s investigation and enforcement response have since served as a cautionary example for digital asset platforms subject to U.S. commodity laws.

Prediction Markets

Event contracts sold on platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket, which boomed in popularity in 2025, are regulated by the CFTC. These prediction markets have come under scrutiny as insider trading and market integrity worries about prediction markets make news.

Commissioners

• 

  Michael Selig, Chairman

See also CFTC Commissioners

Terms of Service - Current and Former Commissioners

Commissioner	Term Available	Dates of Service
William T. Bagley, (Chairman 04/15/75 – 11/15/78)	04/15/75 – 04/15/80	04/15/75 – 11/15/78
Read P. Dunn, Jr.	04/15/80 – 04/15/85	04/15/80 – 11/13/81*
Susan M. Phillips, (Acting Chairman 05/28/83 – 11/16/83), (Chairman 11/17/83 – 07/24/87)	04/15/80 – 04/15/85, 04/15/85 – 04/15/90	11/16/81 – 07/24/87
Wendy L. Gramm, (Chairman 02/22/88 – 01/22/93)	04/15/85 – 04/15/90, 04/15/90 – 04/15/95	02/22/88 – 01/22/93
Sheila C. Bair	04/15/90 – 04/15/95	10/05/94 – 06/16/95*
David D. Spears, (Acting Chairman 06/02/99 – 08/10/99)	04/15/95 – 04/15/00	09/03/96 – 12/20/01
Walter L. Lukken, (Acting Chairman 6/27/07- 01/20/09)	04/15/00 – 04/15/05, 04/15/05 – 04/15/10	08/07/02 – 07/10/09
Scott D. O’Malia	04/15/05 – 04/15/10, 04/15/10 – 04/15/15	10/19/09 - 08/08/14
Gary L. Seevers, (Acting Chairman 12/06/78 – 05/03/79)	04/15/75 – 04/15/79	04/15/75 – 06/01/79
Philip McBride Johnson, (Chairman 06/08/81 – 05/01/83)	04/15/79 – 04/15/84	06/06/81 – 05/01/83
Robert R. Davis	04/15/84 – 04/15/89	10/03/84 – 04/30/90
Sheila C. Bair, (Acting Chairman 08/21/93 – 12/21/93)	04/15/89 – 04/15/94	05/02/91 – 10/04/94*
Mary L. Schapiro, (Chairman 10/13/94 – 01/26/96)	04/15/94 – 04/15/99	10/13/94 – 01/26/96
Brooksley E. Born, (Chairperson 08/26/96 – 06/01/99)	04/15/94 – 04/15/99	08/26/96 – 06/01/99
William J. Rainer, (Chairman 08/11/99 – 01/19/01)	04/15/99 – 04/13/04	08/11/99 – 01/19/01
Sharon Brown-Hruska, (Acting Chairman 08/24/04 – 07/10/05)	04/13/99 – 04/13/04, 04/13/04 – 04/13/09	08/07/02 – 07/28/06
Jill E. Sommers	04/13/04 – 04/13/09, 04/13/09 – 04/13/14	08/08/07 - 07/08/13
Read P. Dunn, Jr.	04/15/75 – 04/15/78	04/15/75 – 04/15/80*
James M. Stone, (Chairman 05/04/79 – 06/08/81)	04/15/78 – 04/15/83	05/04/79 – 01/31/83
William E. Seale	04/15/83 – 04/15/88	11/16/83 – 09/01/88
William P. Albrecht, (Acting Chairman 01/22/93 – 08/20/93)	04/15/88 – 04/15/93	11/22/88 – 08/20/93
John E. Tull, Jr., (Acting Chairman 01/27/96 – 08/25/96)	04/15/93 – 04/15/98	11/24/93 – 02/27/99
Thomas J. Erickson	04/15/98 – 04/13/03	06/21/99 – 12/01/02
Frederick W. Hatfield	04/13/03 – 04/13/08	12/06/04 – 12/31/06
Bart Chilton	04/13/03 – 04/13/08, 04/13/08 – 04/13/13	08/08/07 - 03/21/14
John V. Rainbolt, II	04/15/75 – 04/15/77	04/15/75 – 05/18/78
David G. Gartner	04/15/77 – 04/15/82	05/19/78 – 10/05/82
Fowler C. West	04/15/82 – 04/15/87, 04/15/87 – 04/15/92	10/06/82 – 01/20/93
Barbara P. Holum, (Acting Chairman 12/22/93 – 10/07/94)	04/15/92 – 04/13/97, 04/13/97 – 04/13/02, 04/13/02 – 04/13/07	11/28/93 – 12/09/03
Reuben Jeffery III, (Chairman 07/11/05 – 6/27/07)	04/13/02 – 04/13/07	07/11/05 – 06/27/07
Gary Gensler, (Chairman 05/26/09 - )	04/13/07 – 04/13/12	05/26/09 - 01/3/14
Robert L. Martin	06/19/75 – 06/19/76, 06/19/76 – 06/19/81	06/20/75 – 08/31/81
Kalo A. Hineman, (Acting Chairman 07/27/87 – 02/22/88)	06/19/81 – 06/19/86, 06/19/86 – 06/19/91	01/12/82 – 06/19/91
Joseph B. Dial	06/19/91 – 06/19/96	06/20/91 – 11/13/97
James E. Newsome, (Acting Chairman 01/20/01 – 12/27/01), (Chairman 12/27/01 – 07/23/04)	06/19/96 – 06/19/01, 06/19/01 – 06/19/06	08/10/98 – 07/23/04
Michael V. Dunn, (Acting Chairman 01/20/09 – 05/26/09)	06/19/01 – 06/19/06, 06/19/06 – 06/19/11	12/06/04 – 10/24/11
Mark P. Wetjen	06/19/11 – 06/19/16	10/25/11
Timothy G. Massad, (Chairman 06/05/14 - 01/20/17)	06/05/14 - 02/17/17	(04/13/12 – 04/13/17)
Sharon Y. Bowen	06/09/14 - 09/29/17	(04/13/13 - 04/13/18)
Christopher J. Giancarlo, (Chairman 08/10/17 - 07/15/19, (Acting Chairman 01/20/17 - 08/10/17)	06/16/14 - 07/15/19	(04/13/14 - 04/13/19)
Heath P. Tarbert, (Chairman 07/15/19 – 01/21/21)	07/15/19 – 03/05/21	(04/13/19 – 04/13/24)
Brian D. Quintenz	08/15/17 – 08/31/21	(04/15/15 – 04/15/20)
Dan M. Berkovitz	09/07/18 – 10/15/21	(04/13/18 – 04/13/23)
Dawn DeBerry Stump	09/05/18 – 04/13/22	(04/13/17 – 04/13/22)
Rostin Behnam, (Chairman 01/04/22 - 01/20/25), (Acting Chairman 01/21/21 - 01/04/22)	09/06/17 - 02/07/25	06/19/16 - 06/19/21 and 06/19/21 – 06/19/26)
Summer K. Mersinger	03/30/22-05/31/25	(04/13/2018 – 04/13/2023 and 04/13/2023 – 04/13/2028)
Christy Goldsmith Romero	03/30/22-05/31/25	(04/13/2019 – 04/13/2024)
Kristin N. Johnson	03/20/22-09/03/25	03/20/22-09/03/25
Caroline D. Pham	(04/13/2022 – 04/13/2027)	04/14/22 - 12/22/25, (Acting Chairman 01/20/25-12/22/25)

Video

CFTC's Massad Recaps 2016 - JLN	Jill Sommers Reflects on the CFTC, Dodd-Frank, and Her Future	CFTC's Scott O'Malia Calls for a Plan of Action on Swap Data - JLN
The CFTC and Fintech Innovation, Part 1 - Goals of LabCFTC - JLN	The CFTC and Fintech Innovation, Part 2 - First Steps for LabCFTC - JLN	The CFTC at 50: Examining the Past and Future of Commodity Markets - House Committee on Agriculture
CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam Discusses Market Volatility, Data-Driven Culture, and Future Initiatives - JLN	CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam Gears Up for Full CFTC - JLN	CFTC’s Pham Highlights Enforcement Reforms, Crypto Regulation Efforts at FIA Boca 50 - JLN

Resources

CFTC Recruitment Video