Phantom pulls on-chain perps into the US wallet war ahead of July 9 deadline
Phantom and the Hyperliquid Policy Center asked the CFTC to create clearer rules for wallet-based access to registered derivatives markets. Phantom’s model is non-custodial: users keep their own keys and funds, while the app only provides the interface and routes orders directly to registered venues. In March, the CFTC staff granted Phantom no-action relief on narrow facts, saying it would not recommend enforcement for that specific software access model, but that relief is limited and nonbinding. The July filing seeks broader guidance so protocol developers are not treated as registrants just for building on-chain software, registered exchanges and clearinghouses can use public blockchains for execution and recordkeeping, and non-custodial wallets are not treated as introducing brokers. The push comes as the CFTC is already focused on 24/7 trading risks, and as regulated perpetual futures have started appearing in the U.S. The key issue is whether regulated crypto derivatives will be accessible inside ordinary wallet apps or remain behind broker and exchange accounts.
