On December 5, 2025, U.S. regulators cleared a landmark regulatory pathway permitting listed spot Bitcoin and other crypto asset contracts to trade on futures exchanges registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for the first time. This decision represents a major initiative of Acting Chairman Caroline Pham’s agenda to integrate digital commodities into the traditional financial framework and enhance onshore trading alternatives.
Under CFTC Release No. 9145-25, federally regulated exchanges may list spot crypto products subject to existing surveillance, clearing and position-limit rules that apply to traditional futures contracts. Bitnomial Inc., a Chicago-based derivatives exchange, will be the first to leverage this framework, launching both leveraged and non-leveraged spot Bitcoin trading under CFTC oversight on December 8. The platform will offer unified portfolio margining for spot, perpetuals, futures and options, reducing counterparty risks and improving capital efficiency.
By aligning spot trading with established derivatives protections, the CFTC aims to attract institutional participants who have historically traded offshore due to regulatory barriers. Enhanced transparency, customer protection and market resiliency are touted as key benefits. Market commentators anticipate that this development could catalyze deeper liquidity pools, tighter bid-ask spreads and broader product innovation, including physically settled futures and options on digital assets.
The approval follows months of stakeholder consultations and a CFTC initiative launched in September to gather feedback on tokenized collateral, such as stablecoins, for use in derivatives markets. Pham emphasized that enabling regulated spot crypto trading responds to “recent events on offshore exchanges” and “protects Americans who deserve safe U.S. markets, not offshore venues”.
While the move does not alter existing SEC jurisdiction over security tokens, it signals a coordinated federal approach under the Trump administration’s pro-crypto policy framework, including the GENIUS and CLARITY Acts. Observers will watch for secondary approvals of additional assets and exchanges, and monitor how SEC-CFTC collaboration evolves in classifying and supervising digital commodities and securities under dual regulatory regimes.
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