CFTC Chair Says Agency Is Pursuing Voluntary Federal Registration for Crypto Exchanges

CFTC Chair Mike Selig says the agency is pursuing a voluntary federal registration route for cryptocurrency exchanges, aiming to bring them closer to U.S. market regulatory standards while Congress has yet to legislate on the issue.

Selig also said crypto markets should be governed by the same protections that apply to U.S. derivatives markets. That principle gives the registration effort a stated benchmark: exchange activity in crypto markets should face safeguards comparable to those governing derivatives trading.

The route is voluntary, meaning it is being advanced as a registration option for exchanges. Selig's stated goal is to bring crypto exchanges closer to federal market standards, and his comparison to derivatives markets describes the protection level he wants applied. Congress has yet to pass related legislation, leaving the CFTC's registration effort as the agency action highlighted in his remarks.

The approach combines an opt-in registration route with a call for crypto markets to receive protections already used in derivatives trading.