CFTC Issues Advisory Allowing Foreign Exchanges to Reopen Direct Market Access for U.S. Traders

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Division of Market Oversight (DMO) announced Thursday that it issued an advisory to provide “regulatory clarity” for non-U.S.-based exchanges to allow Americans to have “direct market access” to their platforms, the regulator said in a press release.

CFTC Issues Landmark Advisory

According to the CFTC’s August 28 press release, “the DMO has received an increased number of inquiries” over the matter, leading to the foreign boards of trade (FBOTs) effectively giving “entities legally organized and operating outside the United States” a way back onshore.

“Today’s FBOT advisory provides the regulatory clarity needed to legally onshore trading activity that was driven out of the United States due to the unprecedented regulation by enforcement approach of the past several years,” said Acting Chairman Caroline D. Pham.

“By reaffirming the CFTC’s longstanding approach to provide U.S. traders with choice and access to the deepest and most liquid global markets, with a wide range of products and asset classes, American companies that were forced to set up shop in foreign jurisdictions to facilitate crypto asset trading now have a path back to U.S. markets,” she continued.

Commissioner Caroline Pham Celebrates Landmark Markets Move

Following the news, Pham took to her X account to state that the CFTC “welcomes back Americans that want to trade efficiently and safely under the agency’s regulations, and opens up U.S. markets to the rest of the world.”

Today’s FBOT advisory provides the regulatory clarity needed to legally onshore trading activity that was driven out of the United States due to the unprecedented regulation by enforcement approach of the past several years.

By reaffirming the CFTC’s longstanding approach to…

— Caroline D. Pham (@CarolineDPham) August 28, 2025

In all, the move largely gives foreign platforms a clear path to reconnect with U.S. markets, while letting American traders tap into deeper global liquidity under CFTC oversight.