CFTC Submits Secret Two-Part Crypto Rules Package to White House
Key Takeaways
- •The CFTC submitted a two-part crypto regulation proposal, identified as RIN 3038-AF80, to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs for initial review.
- •The proposal is expected to create a new 'crypto asset markets' exchange category that would permit existing and new exchanges to spot trade digital commodities such as Bitcoin and XRP under CFTC oversight.
- •The rulemaking path includes up to 99 days of OIRA review, a Commission vote, Federal Register publication, and two 60-day public comment periods, making a final binding rule unlikely before late 2027.
- •With legislation stalled after the Clarity Act's rejection, CFTC and SEC agency rulemaking has become the main channel for US crypto oversight, including the SEC's new five-year Innovation Exemption for specific tokenized stocks.
- •Bitcoin revisited the $80,000 mark and the total crypto market cap rose 5.11% to $2.76 trillion despite potentially bearish factors such as the Fed rate hike, a stronger US Dollar Index, and oil above $100.
CFTC Submits Secret Two-Part Crypto Rules Package to White House
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has submitted a two-part crypto regulation proposal to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), the office that screens federal agency rules before they can advance.
Filed under the identifier RIN 3038-AF80, the proposal is divided into two sections:
- Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions
- Regulation Crypto Asset Markets
The specific details of the proposal remain confidential while it undergoes initial White House review. Its outline, however, points to the likely creation of a new category exchange known as "crypto asset markets," which would allow both existing and upcoming crypto exchanges to spot trade digital commodities such as Bitcoin (BTC) and XRP under CFTC oversight. The agency's mandate has historically centered on derivatives, so a dedicated spot-market category would place a segment of the industry that has lacked an equivalent federal category under CFTC oversight.
Under the review process, OIRA has up to 99 days to complete its assessment, after which the proposal returns to the Commission for a vote. It would then be published in the Federal Register and undergo two distinct 60-day public commentary periods. Those sequential steps explain why, even though the development is viewed as positive, a final binding rule is unlikely to take effect until late 2027. The next checkpoints to watch are the end of OIRA's review, the Commission vote, and the Federal Register publication that opens the public comment windows.
No Act, but Regulation Continues
The submission is one in a string of actions demonstrating the commitment of the CFTC and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to guide the crypto ecosystem following the recent Clarity Act rejection. With the legislative route stalled, agency rulemaking is the main channel through which US crypto oversight is taking shape.
pic.twitter.com/N87oIV8mXC — Mike Selig (@ChairmanSelig) September 16, 2026
Just a day earlier, the CFTC announced its exception for crypto and prediction markets software providers from broker classification under certain conditions. Meanwhile, the SEC introduced a five-year "Innovation Exemption" rule, permitting on-chain trading of specific tokenized stocks.
Bitcoin Defies Bearish Developments
In addition to the Clarity Act downturn, the market is contending with other potentially bearish developments, including the Fed interest rate hike, Japan's possible dovish rates approach, the US Dollar Index (DXY) rising above the 100 psychological level, and oil prices surging past the $100 mark.
Bitcoin, however, has shrugged off the expected textbook downturn, revisiting the $80,000 mark. The overall crypto market cap has moved in tandem, rising 5.11% in the day to $2.76 trillion.
