The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has authorized the trading of spot cryptocurrency products on federally regulated futures exchanges. In a notice released on Thursday, Acting CFTC Chair Caroline Pham indicated that this measure aims to shift trading activity towards U.S. exchanges that uphold fundamental safeguards instead of those operating offshore.

“[F]or the first time ever, spot crypto can trade on CFTC-registered exchanges that have been the gold standard for nearly a hundred years, with the customer protections and market integrity that Americans deserve,” stated Pham.

CFTC Announcement

Pham, who assumed her post in January, is set to leave once the Senate confirms a nominee to replace her. The nomination of Michael Selig, who is expected to take over leadership at the CFTC, will soon be taken up for a vote in the Senate.

The first derivatives exchange ready to initiate trading under this approval is Bitnomial, which has set a launch date for next week. This exchange operates under the CFTC as a Designated Contract Market, a designation that Coinbase also secured in 2020.

Changes in CFTC Leadership Expected Soon

Currently, the CFTC’s leadership has four vacant commissioner positions awaiting appointments from the Senate. As of now, Trump has not disclosed any potential nominees for these roles. Furthermore, U.S. senators plan to forward a bill regarding the market structure for digital assets, which aims to define the regulatory roles of the CFTC and SEC in the cryptocurrency sector.