CFTC launches

Under the strong promotion of the Trump administration, the United States is accelerating the integration of crypto assets into the mainstream financial system. On August 1, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) officially launched a regulatory plan called "Crypto Sprint", and then on August 5 proposed to include spot crypto assets in CFTC-registered futures exchanges (Designated Contract Markets, DCMs) for compliant trading. This move not only breaks the long-standing situation where the spot market has been in a regulatory gray area but also indicates that the Web3 industry will usher in a clear and feasible compliance path.  

CFTC Acting Chairman Caroline Pham publicly stated: "Under the strong leadership of President Trump, the CFTC is fully promoting federal-level digital asset spot trading and coordinating with the SEC's 'Project Crypto'." This statement sends a strong signal: U.S. regulation is shifting from "defensive suppression" to "institutional acceptance", providing unprecedented compliance opportunities for Web3 infrastructure such as DeFi, stablecoins, and on-chain derivatives.  

### Legalization of Spot Contracts: The Institutional Starting Point of the Crypto Market  

For a long time, the U.S. regulatory system has lacked unified management over crypto spot trading. Transactions of crypto assets such as BTC and ETH are mostly concentrated on overseas platforms or unlicensed local exchanges. The lack of regulation not only makes it difficult to protect investors' rights and interests but also keeps a large amount of institutional funds in a wait-and-see state.  

The "Crypto Sprint" launched by the CFTC is precisely to address this pain point. One of its core contents is to promote the legal listing of spot contracts for non-security crypto assets on CFTC-registered futures exchanges (DCMs). By approving these platforms to host spot crypto trading, the CFTC provides a compliant alternative to the long-relied-on unlicensed or offshore trading platforms—which have gradually lost institutional trust amid the FTX collapse (2021) and the ongoing regulatory troubles of Binance. Therefore, this policy means that for institutional investors, the entry path for crypto assets is more legal, transparent, and fair, and also removes obstacles for their large-scale allocation of digital assets.  

According to the CFTC, Section 2(c)(2)(D) of the Commodity Exchange Act clearly requires that any commodity trading involving leverage, margin, or financing must be conducted on a registered DCM. This provision provides a solid legal basis for the legal listing of crypto spot contracts and brings much-needed regulatory certainty to the market. Under this framework, we may see "Coinbase-like" centralized trading platforms or on-chain derivative protocols such as dYdX obtain compliant operation licenses by registering as DCMs.  

At the same time, the policy also opens a compliant channel for traditional financial institutions to access crypto assets. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), a representative of DCMs, already has complete infrastructure for the BTC and ETH futures markets. Once spot contracts are approved for listing in the future, it will provide institutional investors with a one-stop crypto asset trading entrance from futures to spot, accelerating the entry of traditional capital.  

### SEC and CFTC Join Forces: Regulatory Coordination Brings Certainty  

Over the past few years, one of the biggest regulatory challenges in the U.S. crypto market has been the overlapping powers and ambiguous definitions between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Project parties often have to cope with compliance pressures from the SEC while also considering the CFTC's commodity trading rules, falling into the dilemma of "regulatory gaps" or "duplicate enforcement", which not only consumes resources but also increases uncertainty.  

However, the "Crypto Sprint" has for the first time clearly signaled that the CFTC will establish a close cooperation mechanism with the SEC to collaboratively clarify the legal attributes (security or commodity) of crypto assets, custody standards, and trading compliance requirements, thereby providing market participants with a unified and predictable compliance path.  

The "sprint" not only symbolizes the acceleration of regulatory pace but also marks a shift in regulatory thinking—from passive defense to active collaboration. For Web3 project parties, this is no longer a simple "regulatory observation period" but an unprecedented window for institutional co-construction. The CFTC has publicly solicited market feedback on the "listing of spot crypto asset contracts on registered exchanges (DCMs)" plan, with the deadline being August 18. If participants can submit their opinions in a timely manner, they are not only expected to avoid future regulatory blind spots but also may influence the specific direction of the rules.  

At the same time, the SEC's "Project Crypto" is also highly coordinated with the "Crypto Sprint", attempting to create a unified federal regulatory framework, clarify the boundaries between security-type and commodity-type crypto assets, and promote the construction of a "Super App" structure that can trade multiple types of assets simultaneously. If this vision is realized, future trading platforms will be able to legally provide "one-stop" crypto financial services such as stocks, Bitcoin, stablecoins, and staking services under a single license.  

SEC Chairman Paul Atkins and Commissioner Hester Peirce have also publicly expressed their support, calling it a "historic turning point in promoting the on-chain transformation of the financial system" and stating that they will accelerate the formulation of specific rules in key areas such as stablecoin regulation, crypto asset custody, and compliant token issuance.  

This dual-track regulatory pattern is expected to end the years of confusion in the United States over crypto assets—where "you say it's a security, I say it's a commodity"—and set a clear and replicable compliance model for the world.  

More importantly, this means that Web3 projects can finally stop "violating regulations when stepping on mines" and truly integrate into the mainstream financial system through clear registration processes, compliant custody, and audit systems, realizing the connection between on-chain assets and real-world finance.  

### Summary  

In the past week, the U.S. government has released unprecedentedly strong signals in the field of crypto assets: the White House officially released the "Digital Asset Strategy Report", the SEC launched "Project Crypto", the CFTC launched "Crypto Sprint" and publicly solicited opinions to promote the compliant listing of spot contracts; at the same time, the White House also made a rare statement prohibiting banks from discriminating against crypto enterprises—this is not just a "relaxation" but a complete policy shift.  

Once upon a time, the SEC was the biggest regulatory shadow over crypto projects. Today, we see it joining forces with the CFTC to establish a unified regulatory framework for Web3. What is visible to the naked eye is a historic structural transformation: from ambiguity to clarity, from suppression to support, from the gray area to federal legislation.  

This time, it's not just the regulatory agencies that are sprinting—it's every Crypto Builder.  

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