Main Points :
- The SEC and CFTC convened their first joint roundtable in nearly 15 years to foster coordinated regulation (not a merger).
- Acting CFTC Chair Caroline Pham emphasized dispelling FUD about the CFTC’s enforcement activity.
- SEC Chair Paul Atkins stressed “cooperation, not consolidation,” denying any institutional merger plans.
- Staff from both agencies issued a joint statement clarifying that certain spot crypto products are tradable on registered exchanges, providing a foundation for aligned regulation.
- The agencies intend to harmonize policy regarding 24/7 trading, event contracts, perpetuals, portfolio margining, innovation exemptions, and reporting frameworks.
- These moves coincide with broader regulatory shifts: streamlined ETF approvals, less aggressive enforcement, and evolving political dynamics in Washington.
- For crypto innovators, new entrants, and token projects, this is a pivotal moment—presenting both new opportunities and regulatory responsibilities.
1. Context: Persistent Rumors and Regulatory Uncertainty
For years, the notion that the SEC and CFTC might merge or reorganize their oversight over digital assets has circulated within crypto circles. The overlap of jurisdictional authority—especially between securities-based and derivatives-based tokens—has fueled confusion and risk.
Against this uncertainty, the recent initiative to hold a joint regulatory roundtable reignited speculation: was this a covert prelude to institutional integration? The agencies publicly denied such intentions, characterizing their collaboration as a path toward clarity, not consolidation.
In the high-stakes world of crypto innovation and token launches, regulatory clarity—or at least directional guidance—is a scarce commodity. The framings and signals from U.S. regulators increasingly matter as much as the regulatory statutes themselves.
2. The Roundtable and Denial of Merger
On September 29, 2025, the SEC and CFTC co-hosted a groundbreaking roundtable, marking their first formal joint gathering in about 14 years. Its purpose: to project a unified regulatory narrative and to field feedback from industry practitioners.
Acting CFTC Chair Caroline Pham used her opening remarks to confront merger rumors directly. She highlighted the agency’s operational activity under her leadership: 18 non-enforcement actions and 13 enforcement actions between January 20 and September 3, followed by 14 additional measures after September 4. Through these disclosures, she asserted that the CFTC is alive, active, and not to be dismissed. She implored the industry to cease spreading further “FUD.”
SEC Chair Paul Atkins echoed the message from his side: that the agencies are focused on cooperation and not institutional consolidation. He reiterated that any change in structure would require action by Congress and the President, not by agency fiat.
Collectively, their messaging sought to reassure that turf wars are over—at least in intent—and that harmonization is the new operational direction.
3. Staff Joint Statement: Spot Crypto and Trading Architecture
Concurrently, the divisions of both agencies issued a Joint Statement on the Trading of Certain Spot Crypto Asset Products (Sept. 2, 2025), offering technical clarity on how spot crypto assets may be traded under existing law.
This statement provides critical interpretive guidance: SEC- and CFTC-registered exchanges are not barred from facilitating trades in some spot crypto commodities, and doing so under permitted channels is consistent with current statutes.
Key functional areas addressed include:
- Margin, clearing, and settlement: Existing rules are interpreted to permit clearinghouses to partner with custodians in structuring customer accounts.
- Market surveillance and reference pricing: Shared pricing venues and cross-venue reference data can enhance oversight.
- Public dissemination of trade data: Exchanges (NSEs, DCMs, etc.) are urged to make transactions publicly visible to increase transparency.
- Fair and orderly markets: Efficiency and transparency are invoked as guiding principles, with encouragement for venues to adopt practices reflecting those values.
On September 5, Atkins and Pham released an additional joint statement that built on these staff-level views. They signaled a commitment to:
- Harmonize definitions of product classes and trading venues
- Align reporting, disclosure, and data frameworks
- Sync capital, margin, and settlement rules
- Offer coordinated “innovation exemptions” or safe harbors to allow experimentation under defined guardrails
These twin tracks—technical staff doctrine and leadership-level policy ambition—set the stage for gradual regulatory alignment.
4. Harmonization Agenda: Key Policy Themes
In both the lead-up to and during the roundtable, a number of priority domains surfaced. Below is a structured look at those agenda items and their practical implications.
4.1 24/7 Trading Markets
Expanding trading hours to around the clock is under consideration, especially for spot and decentralized assets. This reflects global crypto norms and aims to reduce arbitrage friction.
4.2 Event Contracts & Prediction Platforms
The possibility of bringing event or outcome-based contracts (e.g. prediction markets) under regulated U.S. platforms is being examined, particularly with regard to how they overlap securities and derivatives definitions.
4.3 Perpetual Contracts (No Expiry)
Given their popularity in crypto derivatives, perpetual contracts (i.e., futures-like instruments without fixed expiry) are on the regulatory radar. The agencies are exploring whether “onshoring” them under compliant frameworks is possible.
4.4 Portfolio Margining and Cross-Product Efficiency
If portfolio margining across spot, derivatives, and structured products becomes viable, it could improve capital efficiency. Projects that span multiple domains may benefit from early alignment.
4.5 Innovation Exemptions & Safe Harbor Regimes
Regulators signal a willingness to carve limited exemptions for novel models (like peer-to-peer spot trading or DeFi protocols), provided they include investor protection and compliance frameworks.
4.6 DeFi & Protocol-Level Engagement
Though less explicitly spelled out, the narratives suggest regulatory openness to dialogues with decentralized protocol operators, especially those combining trading, lending, staking, and custody functions.
In sum, the agenda touches both infrastructure elements (margin, settlement, data) and frontier models (DeFi, perpetuals, event contracts).
5. Broader Regulatory Trends & Recent Developments
This push toward SEC–CFTC cooperation is not happening in isolation. It intersects with broader transformations in U.S. crypto regulatory policy in 2025.
5.1 Easier ETF Access & Market Entry
The SEC has approved generic listing standards for crypto-focused ETPs, enabling exchanges to list products holding spot commodities without needing separate rule changes.
Also, approval timelines have shrunk—from up to 270 days to around 75—for qualifying products—triggering a wave of filings targeting assets beyond Bitcoin, such as Solana or XRP.
These changes democratize capital flows into crypto, lowering barriers for institutional money.
5.2 A More Permissive Enforcement Tone
The issuance of a “no-action” letter to DoubleZero is a high-profile example of a more nuanced regulatory tone, suggesting that enforcement is becoming more fact-based and less blanket.
In parallel, overall enforcement actions against crypto firms are reportedly at their lowest levels since 2017.
5.3 Legislative Clarity & Stablecoin Frameworks
Congress passed the GENIUS Act to regulate stablecoins issued by financial institutions under rigorous oversight.
The House also passed the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act to better define SEC vs. CFTC roles.
Meanwhile, the FIT21 legislation passed in the House draws more precise lines between decentralized assets (under CFTC) and those closer to securities (under SEC) while defining exceptions and responsibilities.
These efforts help underpin the regulatory scaffolding within which SEC–CFTC coordination must operate.
5.4 Institutional Shifts & Political Uncertainty
Internally, the CFTC is in flux—Pham remains the only sitting commissioner after multiple resignations. The confirmation of Brian Quintenz as a permanent chairman has been delayed, in part due to controversial ties to cryptocurrency power players like the Winklevoss twins.
At the SEC, Acting Chair Mark Uyeda has signaled a rollback of stricter crypto-firm registration proposals, showing a softer approach under current leadership.
Such transitions make it more important for industry actors to stay agile to evolving regulatory priorities.
6. What This Means for Crypto Projects and Investors
For innovators, token issuers, DeFi architects, and institutional entrants, the evolving U.S. regime is both a challenge and an inflection point.
6.1 Engagement Becomes a Strategic Imperative
The SEC and CFTC are actively soliciting feedback through roundtables, comment periods, and direct outreach. Projects that proactively engage—drafting comment letters, seeking relief, or sharing technical models—may better influence policy design or receive advantageous carve-outs.
6.2 Design with Jurisdiction in Mind
As regulatory lines sharpen, token design must anticipate potential classification. Projects should carefully calibrate governance rights, profit-sharing, control, and upgradeability to position within either securities or commodities regimes.
6.3 Capital Efficiency via Margin Innovation
If projects can span spot, derivatives, and structured products under a unified margining system, those with early alignment and modular architecture may outperform peers.
6.4 ETF-Driven Liquidity Paths
Tokens that can meet eligibility for ETP inclusion or attract institutional interest (e.g. satisfying exchange listing requirements) stand to capture liquidity, especially if regulatory artifacts continue to lower barriers to entry.
6.5 Experimental Models, But with Safeguards
Even as “innovation exemptions” may materialize, protocols must bake in investor protection, transparency, dispute resolution, and compliance flexibility—anticipating that regulators will test them for safe and responsible behavior.
Conclusion / Summary
The September 2025 SEC–CFTC joint roundtable, coupled with complementary staff statements and policy signals, marks a moment of potential recalibration in U.S. crypto regulation. Though regulators were clear in denying any intent to merge the agencies, their commitment to “regulatory harmonization” signals the closing of jurisdictional gaps and a reorientation toward coordinated oversight.
For crypto entrepreneurs, this is a crucial moment: the regulatory regime is in flux, but gears are turning toward clarity. Projects that engage, design deliberately, and build infrastructure aligned with both securities and commodities expectations may find new paths to legitimacy and scale. In short, we are entering a new chapter—one where legal alignment and innovation must co-evolve.
