The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has announced a significant initiative in 2025 aimed at allowing the trading of spot cryptocurrency asset contracts on futures exchanges that are registered with the agency. This move, which is still in the proposal stage, reflects an ongoing effort by the Trump administration to integrate digital assets more thoroughly into the traditional financial system, potentially facilitating broader adoption of cryptocurrencies.
Acting CFTC Chair Caroline Pham emphasized the importance of this initiative, stating that it would enable immediate federal-level trading of digital assets in collaboration with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) through its Project Crypto initiative. The CFTC has called upon stakeholders to provide feedback on how to effectively list these spot crypto asset contracts within designated markets, moving the cryptocurrency sector closer to the governance structures that characterize conventional markets.
Saad Ahmed, head of Asia Pacific at Gemini, noted that this initiative could encourage increased participation from institutional and sophisticated market participants globally. The regulatory landscape for digital assets has evolved notably in 2025, with new legislative efforts such as the GENIUS Act and the CLARITY Act introduced to create tailored regulations that the industry has long advocated for.
This latest CFTC initiative signals to cryptocurrency market participants that regulators are committed to making essential infrastructural changes. Shortly after taking office in January 2025, President Trump established a crypto working group tasked with proposing new regulations, fulfilling his campaign pledge to revamp U.S. crypto policy. Last week, this working group released a pivotal report urging the SEC to devise new regulations specific to digital assets and encouraging the CFTC to exercise its authority to allow federal-level trading of these assets.
Trump has positioned himself as the “crypto president,” actively courting support from the cryptocurrency sector during his campaign, with industry executives contributing hundreds of millions of dollars to his campaign and those of Republican congressional candidates.
Moreover, SEC Chair Paul Atkins recently outlined several initiatives supportive of the cryptocurrency ecosystem. These include directing staff to establish criteria for determining when a cryptocurrency token qualifies as a security, alongside proposals for various disclosures and exemptions. The collaborative approach between the CFTC and SEC is seen as a significant victory for the cryptocurrency industry, which has long sought customized regulations to facilitate growth.
Joseph Edwards, head of research at Enigma Securities, expressed optimism about the potential for a wider range of digital assets, beyond just Bitcoin and Ethereum, to gain traction in U.S. markets over the next 24 months. However, the success of the Trump administration’s crypto initiatives will hinge on the ability of the CFTC and SEC to resolve long-standing questions regarding the classification of digital assets as either commodities or securities.
The contrasting attitudes of the Trump administration toward digital assets stand in stark relief to those of former President Joe Biden, whose administration took a more stringent approach to regulating the industry. Under Biden, regulatory bodies pursued legal action against several exchanges, including Coinbase and Binance, for allegedly violating U.S. laws. In contrast, the current SEC has dropped those cases, indicating a shift towards a more favorable regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies.
As the CFTC and SEC continue to refine their approaches, the developments in 2025 mark a pivotal moment for the future of cryptocurrency trading in the United States, promising to reshape the landscape of digital asset regulation and adoption.
For more information on this topic, refer to the original article from Newsmax.
