The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has expanded its crypto guidance to clarify how regulated derivatives firms can handle tokenized investments and digital recordkeeping. The September 24 update addresses two practical questions facing registered firms: how customer funds may be invested in tokenized permitted assets, and whether blockchain systems can be used to satisfy regulatory recordkeeping obligations. Both answers carry direct operational weight for intermediaries, touching the areas where customer funds and books-and-records rules apply most concretely.

The revisions, published as an update to staff FAQs (Press Release 9303-26), were issued by the agency's Market Participants Division, Division of Market Oversight, and Division of Clearing and Risk.

. @CFTC Staff Updates to FAQs Concerning Registrants and Registered Entity Activities Relating to Crypto Assets and Blockchain Technologies: — CFTC (@CFTC) September24, 2026

The guidance does not change existing regulations. The underlying FAQs state that staff interpretations do not create enforceable rights, amend CFTC rules, or guarantee protection from future enforcement action. That distinction matters for compliance planning: the updates signal how staff will read the existing rulebook, but firms remain responsible for satisfying the underlying requirements themselves.

Tokenized Assets Must Still Meet Existing Investment Rules

The latest clarification builds on guidance published in March covering the use of crypto-related infrastructure within the existing derivatives regulatory framework. A key distinction remains between tokenized assets that represent permitted financial instruments and standalone cryptocurrencies that are not eligible under customer investment rules. The CFTC regulates the U.S. derivatives markets, including futures and swaps, and supervises intermediaries such as futures commission merchants and swap dealers.

Under earlier guidance, swap dealers may use tokenized forms of eligible collateral when those instruments satisfy existing regulatory standards. The tokenized instruments must also provide legal and economic rights equivalent to those attached to their traditional versions.

The framework does not automatically make every cryptocurrency suitable for customer funds. The March FAQs specifically stated that Staff Letter 26-05 did not change the list of permitted investments under Regulation 1.25. They also noted that futures commission merchants could not invest customer funds directly in payment stablecoins solely because those assets appeared within broader crypto guidance.

The distinction keeps the focus on the underlying asset rather than its digital format. Tokenization can change how ownership or settlement is represented, but it does not change whether the investment itself qualifies under existing rules.

Blockchain Records Must Still Meet Regulation 1.31 Standards

The second clarification addresses whether regulated firms can use blockchain technology to satisfy recordkeeping obligations. CFTC Regulation 1.31 already follows a technology-neutral framework for storing, retaining, and producing regulated records. That structure was designed to accommodate evolving electronic systems rather than require firms to adopt one specific recordkeeping technology; the form of storage matters less than whether the resulting records satisfy regulatory standards. The updated guidance therefore gives firms a clearer compliance route for distributed ledger systems.

Records must still remain reliable, accessible, retained for the required period, and available when regulators request them.

The update also aligns with recent comments from CFTC Chairman Michael Selig, who has discussed tokenization, stablecoins, and potentially continuous markets as developments expected to become more important within derivatives infrastructure — placing the FAQ revisions within a broader agency-level focus on how distributed ledger technology fits into derivatives markets.

For regulated firms, the main clarification is operational rather than expansive. Blockchain infrastructure can fit within existing CFTC compliance systems, but technology alone does not determine whether a structure is permissible. The underlying asset, custody arrangements, the accessibility of records, and existing regulatory requirements remain central to compliance. Because the updates were delivered through staff FAQs rather than rulemaking, any material change to this compliance perimeter — such as a shift in the permitted investments available under Regulation 1.25 — would have to arrive through separate regulatory action, making future CFTC guidance and rulebook activity the next developments for firms to track.