The Commodity Futures Trading Commission opened public comment Monday on a set of crypto trading rules that exchanges could opt into voluntarily. Chairman Michael Selig pointed straight at FTX, whose founders misappropriated roughly $8 billion in customer funds, as the reason the agency wants rules on the books rather than just enforcement actions after the damage is done.
The notice is an early step. It asks for feedback before any rule is actually written, and comments are due 60 days after it runs in the Federal Register. A formal proposal and a final vote still have to happen before anything binds.
What the notice actually covers
The comment request focuses on retail crypto trades made with borrowed money or platform financing — leveraged and margin deals. Federal law already says those trades have to run through a CFTC-regulated exchange. Selig's proposal would build out crypto-specific rules on top of that, including a new exchange category called a "crypto asset market."
Registered exchanges that join would have to keep customer money separate, monitor for manipulation, and put limits on conflicts of interest. In return, they could offer retail traders leverage and margin — something state money transmitter licenses, the kind FTX leaned on, don't allow.
Selig's FTX math
The chairman's argument rests on a split that's easy to miss. The one FTX unit the CFTC oversaw kept customer money safe. Roughly 130 sister companies went bankrupt. That contrast is the heart of Selig's pitch: CFTC oversight worked where it applied, so the agency wants a wider, clearer framework rather than chasing fraudsters through court after the fact.
Selig also reached back to old CNBC coverage of FTX's $32 billion valuation. The point being that the valuation didn't reflect what was happening underneath. He said in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that the rules would not force crypto onto CFTC platforms.
The Congress problem
They can't. Without Congress, the CFTC has no power to compel crypto firms onto its turf. The CLARITY Act stalled in the Senate, and that's where the mandatory version of this idea died. So Selig is doing what he can with the tools he has: voluntary registration, a new category, and a public comment process designed to build a record.
It's a narrower play than it sounds. The timing isn't great either, with the Senate version of market structure legislation stuck and no clear path to revive it this session.
Bitnomial already fits the mold
One firm says it's been waiting for this. Bitnomial claims it is the first crypto-native US exchange to hold all three CFTC licenses needed for this line of business. It launched leveraged retail spot crypto trading in December 2025.
Kraken parent Payward agreed in April to buy Bitnomial for up to $550 million. Payward also planned a Hyperliquid route for US clients through Bitnomial, pending approval. Hyperliquid, an offshore platform, bars US users — so the acquisition would give stateside traders a regulated on-ramp to a venue they currently can't touch.
None of that happens automatically. The Bitnomial deal needs sign-off, and the CFTC's rulemaking needs to survive the comment period and a final vote. Until then, the voluntary framework is exactly that — voluntary.
