U.S. SEC and CFTC Approve Trading of Spot Crypto by Registered Firms

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that certain crypto assets can now be traded with their approval on registered platforms. This marks a significant change in regulatory stance following the previous administration.

Key points include:

The SEC and CFTC are coordinating to enable trading of specific spot crypto assets on registered exchanges.
This initiative is part of the SEC's "Project Crypto" and the CFTC's "crypto sprint," aimed at positioning the U.S. as a global leader in the crypto space.
Entities like designated contract markets (DCMs) and national securities exchanges (NSEs) are encouraged to engage with regulators to facilitate this trading.
SEC Chairman Paul Atkins emphasized market participants' freedom to choose trading venues.
CFTC Acting Chairman Caroline Pham noted this cooperation aims to support market growth and development.
Legislation is being developed in Congress to establish comprehensive rules for the crypto market in the U.S.
The CFTC lacks full regulatory authority over firms trading directly in the crypto commodity spot market.

The specifics on which cryptocurrencies will be affected were not detailed in the statement.