Share this article
CFTC Issues Guidance on Digital Currencies for Futures Commission Merchants
The CFTC wants futures commission merchants to take care when dealing with customer's funds.
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 10:22 a.m. Published Oct 22, 2020, 2:01 a.m.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has released an advisory to futures commission merchants (FCM) providing clarity on how to look after users' digital currencies in segregated accounts.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
- According to a Wednesday press release from the CFTC's Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight, the advisory informs FCMs on how to hold and report certain digital assets held by customers in connection with physically delivered futures contracts or swaps.
- A segregated account means customer funds are strictly separated from a company's money.
- The CFTC noted that holding customer assets as segregated funds may let greater risks arise for the other customers under the same banner.
- The financial watchdog's advisory also provides guidance on best practices FCMs should follow when they design and maintain risk management programs when dealing with digital assets as customer funds.
- The advisory does not pertain to foreign FCMs' digital assets custody of customer's assets in relation to trading futures or options on futures.
- CFTC Division Director Joshua B. Sterling said in a statement the commission is "committed to fostering responsible fintech innovation" as it works toward creating a "holistic framework for digital asset derivatives."
See also: Tassat Gains CFTC ‘No-Action’ Relief Ahead of Eventual Bitcoin Swaps Contract Listing
See the CFTC's guidance in full below:
Mehr für Sie
Was Sie wissen sollten:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
Mehr für Sie
Fidelity's Jurrien Timmer: Expect lame 2026 as four-year bitcoin cycle appears intact
The director of global macro at the asset management giant remains a secular bull on bitcoin, but isn't optimistic about the next year.
Was Sie wissen sollten:
- A number of notable market analysts of late have dismissed the idea of bitcoin's four-year cycle and the nearly certain bear market that might imply.
- Fidelity's Jurrien Timmer, however, says the action so far this time around lines up about perfectly with past four-year cycles and the current bearish action should last deep into 2026.
Top Stories
