CFTC Proposes Federal Licensing Regime for Crypto Exchanges, Including Perps

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission published a plan on October 6, 2026, to create a federal licensing framework for crypto exchanges, three weeks after the Clarity Act failed in the Senate. The proposal, Regulation CTX and Regulation CAM, opens a 60-day public comment period once published in the Federal Register. The framework would cover trades involving borrowed money, or where leverage is merely offered, with leverage determining which exchanges need a license. Licensed venues could match buyers and sellers, custody customer funds and crypto, settle trades and lend, with separate approvals per activity. Trades would route through AML-compliant brokers or sponsoring banks for leverage. The agency is also weighing proof-of-reserves requirements and listing standards against manipulable tokens. Traders read the proposal as a path for onshore perpetual futures, following Robinhood's US crypto perps launch, Coinbase's single-stock perps filing and Kraken parent's Hyperliquid talks. Separately, the SEC cleared six funds tripling daily moves in Bitcoin, Ethereum, gold, silver, oil and gas via a Cboe rule change cleared October 2.