CFTC’s Caroline Pham Pushes Forward Trump Administration’s Crypto Agenda With Withdrawal of “Actual Delivery” Guidance

U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Acting Chairman Caroline Pham has taken another significant step in advancing President Donald Trump’s renewed crypto agenda by withdrawing long-standing guidance on “actual delivery” for crypto commodities. The move targets a 2020 document that Pham argues has become outdated and overly burdensome for the digital asset industry, hindering innovation at a time when the administration is seeking to create a more supportive regulatory environment for crypto.

In a statement released Thursday, Pham emphasized that removing unnecessary regulatory barriers aligns directly with the administration’s goals for 2025. She noted that the previous guidance—introduced during Trump’s first term—was originally intended to outline how “actual delivery” of crypto commodities should be defined under the Commodity Exchange Act. The concept is crucial because it determines when a crypto transaction falls under CFTC oversight rather than being treated as a leveraged or margined product.

The guidance had been years in the making. Law firm Steptoe first requested clarification from the CFTC in 2016 as crypto markets were still developing. However, the landscape has evolved dramatically since then. Earlier this year, the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets recommended that the agency revisit and expand its interpretation of “actual delivery” to better reflect technological and market advancements.

In its withdrawal notice, the CFTC said that eliminating the old guidance was necessary to reassess the framework in light of new market mechanisms and trading practices that have emerged over the past five years. Pham’s decision comes amid a flurry of accelerated crypto-related actions within the agency, even as Trump’s nominee for permanent CFTC chair, Mike Selig, is expected to face a confirmation vote as early as next week.

With the regulatory environment shifting rapidly, Pham’s move signals a broader effort to streamline rules, promote innovation, and position the CFTC as a central player in shaping the future of U.S. crypto oversight.