The CFTC’S New Crypto Market Rules
What They Mean for Conflicts of Interest, MNPI and Employee Compliance
On October 5, 2026, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) outlining two potential regulatory frameworks for crypto markets: Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions (CTX) and Regulation Crypto Asset Markets (CAM). Published in the Federal Register on October 13, the ANPRM is open for public comment until December 14, 2026.
The ANPRM arrives three weeks after the CLARITY Act stalled in the Senate, making agency rulemaking the main route to federal crypto market structure for now. While the initiative introduces no immediate compliance obligations, it signals how the CFTC may approach crypto trading, market surveillance, and conflicts of interest. For financial services firms, it also raises important questions about employee trading, material nonpublic information (MNPI), and the effectiveness of existing compliance controls.
What Is the CFTC Proposing?
The CFTC is considering two complementary frameworks:
- Regulation CTX would clarify when leveraged, margined or financed retail crypto transactions fall under the Commodity Exchange Act. The framework considers whether offering leverage is sufficient to trigger regulatory coverage and how actual delivery of crypto assets should be determined.
- Regulation CAM would introduce an optional category of CFTC-registered crypto asset market within the existing designated contract market framework, with transactions routed through registered intermediaries and clearing organizations.
Together, these proposals could create a clearer federal regulatory pathway for leveraged retail crypto trading.
The frameworks primarily target non-security crypto assets, including digital commodities such as Bitcoin and Ether. Tokenized securities, including stocks and bonds, remain outside their scope. These categories come from the joint SEC and CFTC crypto asset taxonomy, which classifies tokens as digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital tools, digital securities or stablecoins. That taxonomy now determines which rules apply to a given token.
A Changing Regulatory Landscape
The ANPRM is designed to work alongside the SEC’s proposed Regulation Crypto Assets, which would create a safe harbor allowing certain crypto assets to move out of securities treatment. It also follows the CFTC’s initiative follows the SEC’s September 2026 Innovation Exemption, which provides temporary, conditional relief for certain venues trading tokenized stocks.
Although the two initiatives address different asset classes, they highlight a growing challenge for compliance teams: employees may gain similar economic exposure through traditional securities, tokenized assets and crypto markets, each subject to different regulatory requirements.
As these markets converge, firms need greater visibility across products, platforms, and employee activity.
Managing Market Abuse and Conflicts of Interest
Market integrity is a central focus of the CFTC’s proposal. Areas under consideration include market surveillance, manipulation risks, listing standards, position limits and conflicts arising from vertically integrated crypto businesses.
For example, affiliated entities involved in lending, clearing and liquidating customer positions may face competing commercial incentives that require appropriate safeguards.
Importantly, the ANPRM focuses primarily on trading venues and intermediaries. It does not introduce new employee personal trading, MNPI or information barrier requirements.
Nevertheless, the developments reinforce the importance of assessing whether existing compliance programs adequately address emerging digital asset risks.
What This Means for Compliance Teams
For both buy-side and sell-side firms, the expansion of crypto trading and tokenized securities creates potential gaps in traditional employee compliance controls.
Key considerations include:
- Personal trading: Do existing policies capture leveraged crypto positions, tokenized securities, and activity across different trading platforms?
- MNPI exposure: Could employees access sensitive information involving token launches, unlock schedules, governance decisions, or private investments?
- Watch and restricted lists: Can firms monitor individual tokens and digital assets alongside traditional issuers and securities, and classify them consistently with the SEC and CFTC taxonomy?
- Surveillance: Are employee disclosures and monitoring processes sufficient to identify activity involving self-custody wallets, decentralized platforms, and offshore venues?
- Conflicts of interest: Can firms identify potential conflicts arising from employees’ professional responsibilities and personal digital asset holdings?
These considerations are particularly important as crypto markets operate around the clock, and trading activity increasingly spans multiple jurisdictions and platforms.
Preparing for What’s Next
The CFTC’s ANPRM represents an early stage in the rulemaking process. Further proposals, public consultation, and final rules would be required before new compliance obligations take effect. Firms with a view on how these markets should be supervised can respond before December 14.
Rather than waiting for regulatory requirements to be finalized, firms can use this opportunity to evaluate their existing controls.
Reviewing employee trading policies, strengthening digital asset disclosures, expanding watch and restricted lists, and assessing potential sources of MNPI can help firms identify gaps before they become more significant.
Effective oversight requires a connected approach that brings employee activity, trading data, policies, and compliance workflows together.
How StarCompliance Can Help
StarCompliance (Star) helps firms manage employee conflicts of interest and MNPI across traditional securities and digital assets. Through automated personal trading pre-clearance, account disclosures, control room oversight, and watch and restricted list management, Star enables more connected, consistent compliance controls.
As digital asset markets evolve, Star helps compliance teams strengthen visibility, streamline oversight, and adapt to emerging risks.
Contact StarCompliance [HERE] to learn how we can help strengthen your employee compliance program.
