CFTC Updates Guidance to Allow Tokenized Customer Funds and Blockchain Recordkeeping for Derivatives Firms

Registered derivatives firms can now legally invest customer funds in tokenized versions of U.S. Treasuries and money-market shares, and maintain their required regulatory records on a blockchain. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued the updated guidance on September 24, 2026, effectively bringing crypto-native market infrastructure into the regulated derivatives perimeter.[2][4][5]

The update adds four new entries and revises one existing answer in a set of frequently asked questions originally published on March 20, 2026. Under the revised framework, futures commission merchants and derivatives clearing organizations can hold tokenized assets provided the token grants holders "legal and economic rights that are the same or functionally equivalent" to the traditional asset.[2][4][5]

CFTC Regulation 1.25 strictly controls how brokers can invest segregated customer funds, limiting them to conservative instruments designed to preserve principal and maintain liquidity. The new guidance does not expand this list to include direct investments in volatile cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ether. Instead, it clarifies that an already-permitted asset does not lose its eligibility simply because it is represented on a distributed ledger.[1][2][4]

CFTC Chairman Michael Selig framed the staff-level update as a necessary step for market evolution. "I'm pleased to see staff update these frequently asked questions consistent with the agency's ongoing efforts to provide regulatory clarity for the crypto industry," Selig said in a statement.[2][4][5]

Alongside tokenized investments, the September 24 update addressed blockchain-based recordkeeping. The CFTC stated it would not object to registered firms using distributed ledger technology to satisfy their books-and-records obligations under Regulation 1.31 and swap data rule 45.2. Firms using public permissionless chains must still maintain systems to submit records to regulators even during network outages, but the agency no longer assumes that on-chain records require off-chain duplication for compliance purposes.[1][3][4]

The regulatory action arrives nine days after the U.S. Senate failed to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act. The September 15 cloture vote failed 49-50, stalling a bill that would have formally divided digital asset oversight between the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).[2][5]

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With Congress deadlocked until at least 2027, federal agencies are moving ahead under their existing statutory authority. SEC Chair Paul Atkins noted before the failed CLARITY vote that his agency was "ready, willing, and able" to propose its own crypto rules in the absence of a legislative mandate.[2][5]

The new FAQs build on a foundation the CFTC laid over the past year. CFTC Staff Letter 25-39 previously addressed the use of tokenized non-cash collateral, while Staff Letter 26-05 provided a no-action position allowing firms to accept certain non-security digital assets, including qualifying payment stablecoins, as customer margin collateral.[1][4]

By treating tokenization as a format rather than a new asset class, the CFTC has given clearinghouses the green light to evaluate blockchain instruments against conventional standards. The immediate test will be how quickly major derivatives clearing organizations integrate tokenized money-market funds into their daily collateral workflows heading into 2027.[2][3]