SEC and CFTC launch joint effort to harmonize crypto and DeFi rules

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have announced their planned coordination to support crypto, DeFi, prediction markets, perpetual contracts & portfolio margining. 

The two major regulatory bodies in the US aim to harmonize rules, reduce regulatory gaps, expand trading hours, and use innovation exemptions to keep US markets competitive.

🚨JUST IN: The @SECGov and @CFTC are ramping up coordination to support crypto, DeFi, prediction markets, perpetual contracts & portfolio margining.

The two agencies are aiming to harmonize rules, reduce regulatory gaps, expand trading hours, and use innovation exemptions to… pic.twitter.com/T8utxyhbKe

— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) September 5, 2025

The two said,  “As the markets for securities and non-securities increasingly converge, we are excited to embark on a new beginning for coordination between U.S. market regulators. The work of the SEC and CFTC has never been more intertwined—and the wave of innovation before us never more dependent on the depth of our cooperation.”

A coordinated SEC and CFTC framework for portfolio margining 

This announcement comes days after their joint staff statement on spot crypto asset products, which was their first step of collaboration. Both agencies have had tensions in the past, primarily due to overlapping jurisdictions and opposing regulatory approaches, particularly where crypto is concerned.

However, now both of them have agreed that a coordinated SEC-CFTC framework for portfolio margining could potentially reduce capital inefficiencies by recognizing offsetting positions across product classes.

Both have reaffirmed that they are prepared to consider “innovation exemptions” to create safe harbors or exemptions that allow market participants to engage in peer-to-peer trading of spot, leveraged, margin, or other transactions in spot crypto assets. This includes derivatives such as perpetual contracts over DeFi protocols. 

These safe harbors and exemptions would allow market participants to build commercially viable models while the agencies advance longer-term rulemaking.

According to the SEC and CFTC, the right to self-custody one’s assets is a core American value. As things stand, market participants can trade spot crypto on government-regulated venues. The regulatory bodies say that there are other ways for users to trade spot crypto with each other. 

A joint roundtable is to be held this September

The two regulatory bodies announced a joint SEC and CFTC roundtable on regulatory harmonization, which will be held on September 29, 2025.

According to the press release seen by Cryptopolitan, they both said,  “As detailed by the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets report on strengthening American leadership in digital financial technology, we are committed to using our existing authorities to establish fit-for-purpose regulations for innovative products and trading platforms.”

On the roundtable, the SEC and CFTC will discuss ways to encourage ways of harmonizing their approaches to product offerings, enabling increased market choice, and protecting investors through clear, predictable, and pro-innovation regulatory frameworks. 

The SEC and CFTC are open to collaborating with a possibility of further expanding trading hours, where appropriate. Expanding trading hours further could better align the US markets with the evolving reality of a global, always-on economy. However, there may not be a single best way to handle all goods when it comes to trading hours. Still, it may work better for some types of assets than others.

In addition, the SEC and CFTC are set to examine collaboration opportunities to consider where event contracts may be made available to US market participants. This is regardless of where the jurisdictional lines fall.

The statement also addressed offshore crypto markets with many perpetual contracts, which are swaps that don’t have a defined expiry date. They aren’t used as much in the US as they could be because of jurisdiction and definitional constraints. 

According to the regulatory bodies, “the agencies could consider concurrent steps to onshore perpetual contracts that meet investor and customer-protection standards, potentially allowing these products to trade across SEC- and CFTC-regulated platforms.”

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