The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has published prepared remarks by Chairman Michael S. Selig for the FIA Global Cleared Markets Conference, setting out a broad agenda to refocus the agency on principles-based oversight, reduce post-Dodd-Frank compliance burdens, and provide clearer rules for digital asset and prediction markets. The remarks also announced that the Commission is stepping away from climate-related initiatives and intends to focus enforcement on fraud, abuse, and manipulation rather than policy making. For traditional markets, Selig said the agency is considering, under a pilot program, excluding Energy Commodity End-User Swaps from the swap dealer de minimis threshold and may extend similar relief to some agricultural and critical minerals swaps. He also highlighted possible changes to capital, margin and reporting rules, CFTC-SEC harmonization including substituted compliance and potential European Union and United Kingdom comparability determinations, a rulemaking for derivatives clearing organizations and designated contract markets that give retail customers direct access without a futures commission merchant, and formal rules to replace longstanding no-action relief on reporting, swap execution facility functionality, binary options style products, the QEP Exemption and Form PF. For digital markets, he previewed work on a crypto asset taxonomy, guidance on whether non-custodial software and decentralized finance developers trigger intermediary registration, standards for leveraged and margined retail crypto transactions and crypto perpetuals, and guidance on how event contracts may be listed and traded. The remarks also said the Commission is disavowing the Market Risk Advisory Committee’s 2020 climate risk report, eliminating the advisory committee’s climate subcommittee, dismantling the Climate Risk Unit, and withdrawing the June 2, 2022 request for information on climate-related financial risk. Most of these items were presented as forthcoming staff work or matters the Commission is considering rather than final rules. Selig said the agency will use notice-and-comment rulemaking instead of repeated no-action letter extensions, and that staff will prepare an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking to gather feedback on event contracts.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission 2026-03-09
Commodity Futures Trading Commission chairman outlines derivatives and crypto rulemaking agenda and climate rollback
CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig announced a shift to principles-based oversight, reducing post-Dodd-Frank compliance burdens, and clearer rules for digital asset and prediction markets at the FIA Global Cleared Markets Conference. The CFTC will focus enforcement on fraud and manipulation, consider excluding certain swaps from the swap dealer de minimis threshold, and explore changes to capital, margin, and reporting rules. Additionally, the CFTC is stepping away from climate-related initiatives and will use notice-and-comment rulemaking for future regulatory developments.