Former SEC, CFTC Officials Urge Lighter Touch to Bring Crypto Perps Trading Onshore
The SEC and CFTC are moving ahead on crypto rules even as broader market-structure legislation remains stalled. A key focus is derivatives: both agencies are seeking input on how to define swaps, security-based swaps, and emerging products, and where their jurisdictions should begin and end. Former SEC and CFTC officials urged them to avoid overlapping rules that add compliance costs and could drive trading overseas, especially in perpetual futures, where offshore markets are estimated to be enormous. At the SEC, a planned rewrite of custody rules has been sent to the White House for review. The goal is to clarify how regulated firms can safeguard digital assets and update outdated provisions. This is a shift from Gary Gensler’s broader proposed safeguarding rule, which was later scrapped. The SEC’s separate “Reg Crypto” proposal is now open for public comment through Oct. 20.
