Share this article
CFTC Grants Full Registration to Bitcoin Swaps Trading Platform
The CFTChas granted registration to a trading platform that was an early entrant in the US market for financial derivatives tied to bitcoin.
By Stan Higgins
Updated May 9, 2023, 3:03 a.m. Published May 26, 2016, 10:24 p.m.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has granted formal registration to a trading platform that was an early entrant in the market for bitcoin financial derivatives.
TeraExchange, a swaps execution facility based in New Jersey, had been previously operating under a temporary registration order, and today's announcement formally recognizes this designation. The CFTC said it would regulate bitcoin as a commodity in September of last year.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
The approval, one of three granted today according to a release from the agency, comes months after the CFTC simultaneously charged and settled with TeraExchange over alleged violations of the Commodity Exchange Act in 2014.
At the time, the agency said that a trade that took place in October of that year, and that was overseen by TeraExchange, constituted wash trading and pre-arranged trading. The firm settled without paying any financial penalties.
In addition to its bitcoin forwards contract – a type of derivative wherein one party agrees to buy or sell an asset at a predetermined price from another party at a certain date – TeraExchange also runs a bitcoin price index.
TeraExchange’s approval comes shortly after another firm looking to offer derivatives trading in bitcoin, LedgerX, received temporary approval from the CFTC to operate last September.
Image via Shutterstock
Correction: This article has been updated to remove an inaccuracy regarding the current status of LedgerX's CFTC registration.
More For You
What to know:
- 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.
More For You
Visa brings Circle's USDC settlement to U.S. banks following $3.5 billion stablecoin pilot
Initial participants include Cross River Bank and Lead Bank, which are settling with Visa in USDC over the Solana blockchain.
What to know:
- U.S. banks and fintechs can now settle Visa obligations in Circle's USDC, starting on the Solana blockchain.
- Early participants include Cross River Bank and Lead Bank, with broader rollout planned through 2026.
- Visa will also support Circle’s Arc blockchain and run a validator, extending its stablecoin infrastructure bet.
Top Stories
