In a milestone for the cryptocurrency industry, US financial regulators SEC and CFTC released a joint statement on September 2, 2025, making it easier for regulated exchanges to enter spot trading with crypto assets. This signals a pro-innovation stance by the new administration.
The Joint Staff Statement by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) clarifies that registered exchanges are not prevented from listing certain spot crypto products. It represents coordination within the SEC's "Project Crypto" and the CFTC's "Crypto Sprint," building on recommendations from the President’s Working Group on Digital Assets (PWG Report) published in July 2025. The regulators offer to promptly review applications and questions from Designated Contract Markets (DCMs), Foreign Boards of Trade (FBOTs), and National Securities Exchanges (NSEs). Key aspects include margin requirements, clearing and settlement, fair market development, and investor protection, as Bloomberg reports.
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Regulatory coordination: a new chapter for crypto in the us
The release of the statement marks a paradigm shift in US cryptocurrency regulation. Until now, spot trading - the direct buying and selling of assets like Bitcoin or Ethereum without derivatives - was stuck in a gray area, as the SEC often classified crypto as securities and the CFTC as commodities. The new statement clarifies that existing laws such as the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) do not prohibit trading on regulated platforms, as long as exemptions for leveraged or margined transactions are respected. A key exemption allows retail commodity transactions on SEC-registered NSEs, which is now explicitly extended to spot crypto assets.
This move is closely tied to the Trump administration’s policy of viewing crypto as a driver of economic innovation. The PWG Report of July 30, 2025 explicitly calls on the SEC and CFTC to use their authorities to promote blockchain innovation in the US and provide regulatory clarity. The CFTC had already launched its Crypto Sprint initiative in August 2025 to enable spot contracts on DCMs and invited stakeholders to submit comments.
The joint statement builds on this and integrates the SEC’s perspective to expand venue choice for market participants. Experts predict that major exchanges such as NYSE, Nasdaq, or CME could soon offer spot trading for BTC and ETH. The regulators emphasize that clearinghouses may cooperate with custodians to manage customer accounts and invite dialogue - contact details of the Divisions of Trading and Markets (SEC) and Market Oversight (CFTC) are provided. This coordination could reduce systemic risks and promote fair markets by requiring transparency and the dissemination of public data.
