The U.S. CFTC launches a digital asset pilot program, allowing BTC, ETH and USDC to be used as collateral

PANews reported on December 9 that according to CoinDesk, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) launched a pilot program on Monday to allow some digital assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDC to be used as collateral in the U.S. derivatives market. Acting Chairman Caroline Pham said that this plan is part of the initiative to formulate rules for the use of tokenized collateral (including tokenized versions of real assets such as U.S. debt). Currently only futures commission merchants (FCMs) that meet certain criteria can participate. These companies can use Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDC and other payment stablecoins as margin for futures and swap transactions, but are subject to strict reporting and custody requirements. For the first three months, digital asset holdings must be disclosed weekly and issues reported to the CFTC. In actual operation, registered companies can use Bitcoin as collateral for commodity leverage swaps, and the CFTC will monitor the risks and custody.

The agency also issued a no-objection letter, allowing futures commission merchants to deposit some digital assets into segregated customer accounts on the premise of strictly controlling risks. The CFTC rescinded old 2020 guidance that discouraged cryptocurrencies from being used as collateral because the GENIUS Act updated federal rules and made the guidance obsolete. The CFTC emphasizes that its rules remain technology neutral, but tokenized versions of real assets (such as Treasury bonds) must meet enforceability, custody and valuation standards.

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