Tag: Compliance
CFTC's March 23 Regulatory Revolution: The Joint SEC Interpretation Goes Live, Perpetual Futures Get Their First US Legal Home, and the Crypto Collateral Pilot Opens Bitcoin and ETH as Derivatives Margin — America's Most Complete Crypto Rulebook Becomes Enforceable
On March 23, 2026, the most comprehensive set of US crypto derivatives regulations in the asset class's seventeen-year history became simultaneously enforceable. The SEC-CFTC Joint Interpretation — published in the Federal Register as document 2026-05635 — established clear, binding jurisdictional rules for every crypto asset platform operating in the United States, determining which tokens are regulated by the SEC as securities and which are regulated by the CFTC as commodities. CFTC Chair Michael Selig confirmed at the Milken Institute's Future of Finance conference on March 3 that true crypto perpetual futures — not long-dated substitute contracts — are now permitted in the United States for the first time, reversing the de facto prohibition that had driven over $3 trillion in annual crypto perpetual futures volume to offshore exchanges in Asia, Europe, and the Bahamas. The CFTC crypto collateral pilot, authorised by Staff Letter 26-05 and detailed in FAQs issued March 20 by Greenberg Traurig's analysis, allows registered futures commission merchants to accept Bitcoin, Ethereum, and payment stablecoins as derivatives margin. The SEC-CFTC Memorandum of Understanding, signed March 11, commits both agencies to coordinated oversight, shared jurisdictional clarity, and streamlined compliance for dually regulated entities.
Wall Street Declares War on the OCC: JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup Weigh Lawsuit as Crypto Firms Gain Federal Bank Charters — 11 Approvals in 83 Days
The Bank Policy Institute — representing 40 US mega-banks including JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Citigroup — is preparing to sue the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency over its decision to grant national trust bank charters to Ripple, Circle, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, Paxos and six other crypto and fintech firms. Eleven companies received conditional approvals or filed applications in just 83 days. The legal challenge centres on OCC Interpretive Letter 1176. A new OCC rule effective April 1, 2026 is forcing BPI's hand on timing. On March 5, the American Bankers Association separately rejected the White House's CLARITY Act compromise. The biggest legal confrontation in the history of US crypto banking access is now formally in motion.