U.S. crypto platforms have long lived between state money-transmitter licences and federal enforcement. On 5 October 2026, Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Michael Selig announced that the Commission is advancing an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) on Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions (Regulation CTX) and Regulation Crypto Asset Markets (Regulation CAM). [1]
An ANPRM is a formal request for public comment before the agency drafts detailed proposed rules. It is not a finished rulebook.
Selig’s Fordham Law remarks are the Chairman’s views and, he notes, do not necessarily reflect those of the Commission. [1]
What would CTX and CAM cover?
Under the packet described in the speech and the approved ANPRM draft, the focus is retail crypto transactions involving margin, leverage or financing—labelled CTXs—under Commodity Exchange Act section 2(c)(2)(D). [1][2]
In plain terms: if a retail customer trades crypto with borrowed funds or similar financing, that activity sits on the federal pathway the CFTC is sketching. Firms that want to host only those CTXs could register as a new DCM subcategory called a crypto asset market (CAM); existing designated contract markets could also offer CTXs under tailored rules. [1]
CoinDesk’s trade-press coverage on the same day stresses the remaining spot-market gap: ordinary spot crypto trading without leverage, margin or financing is not brought fully under CFTC registration by this packet and remains largely under state money-transmission rules, subject still to federal anti-fraud and anti-manipulation authority. [3]
Timing and other points in the speech
The approved ANPRM draft sets comments due 60 days after publication in the Federal Register—so the clock starts on Federal Register publication, not the speech date. [2][3]
Selig also discussed clarifying “actual delivery” so that delivery of a crypto asset to a user’s external non-custodial wallet within 28 days would generally satisfy that statutory exception, and said the agency is exploring policies for software publishers who do not solicit orders or hold customer assets. [1]
Why it matters
After market-structure legislation did not reach the President’s desk, this ANPRM is a federal rulemaking path for leveraged or margined retail crypto venues—parallel to recent SEC crypto initiatives—while leaving plain spot trading largely where it is today. [1][3]
What this does not prove
- That final CTX/CAM rules exist; this is comment solicitation. [1][2]
- That the 60-day window has already started; it runs from Federal Register publication. [2]
- That spot trading without leverage is newly federally registered under this packet. [1][3]
- That every statement in the Chairman’s speech is a voted Commission position. [1]
The Bottom Line
The CFTC is asking for comments on a federal pathway for leveraged, margined or financed retail crypto trades and a CAM-style exchange subcategory. Spot crypto without those features stays mostly outside that federal registration ladder. Watch the Federal Register date—not just the speech—for when the 60-day clock actually runs.
Sources
- CFTC, Chairman Michael Selig remarks at Fordham Law Blockchain Regulatory Symposium, 5 October 2026 — https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/SpeechesTestimony/opaselig12
- CFTC, ANPRM on Regulation CTX and Regulation CAM (as approved) — https://www.cftc.gov/media/14716/ANPRM_CTX-CAM_asapproved/download
- CoinDesk, 5 October 2026 (trade press) — https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/10/05/u-s-cftc-joins-sec-in-proposing-crypto-regulations-though-spot-market-gap-lingers
