Treasury's FinCEN cuts crypto exchange MEXC Global off from the US financial system
FinCEN says MEXC Global facilitated at least $16 billion in illicit transactions linked to Iranian, North Korean and Russian sanctions evasion and cybercrime. The order takes effect 30 days after Federal Register publication.
CFTC tells contract markets to drop US geographic access limits within 30 days or explain why
A new CFTC interpretation says exchanges generally cannot restrict access by US location, a position it reached after overseeing event contracts. Exchanges have 30 days to comply or explain.
CFTC staff say clearing houses may use trust companies for daily settlement
A no-action letter requested by Nodal Clear lets derivatives clearing organizations settle through trust companies if they treat them like settlement banks. Nodal says this eases digital assets as margin collateral.
CFTC and USDA sign an agreement to share data and watch for risks in US agricultural markets
The memorandum of understanding, announced on November 4, sets out how the futures regulator and the Agriculture Department intend to share information and coordinate policy. It creates no legally binding obligations.
Perpetual futures on single stocks can now trade on US exchanges, CFTC chairman says
CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig said on 3 November that perpetual futures on individual equity securities can begin trading on exchanges registered with both the CFTC and the SEC.
FINRA sets the last industry tests before its trade reporting facilities move to 23x5 on December 6
FINRA's trade reporting facilities will run from Sunday 9:00 p.m. to Friday 8:00 p.m. ET from December 6, 2026. Firms get a weekend test on November 6 and 7, then two more readiness tests.
Bank of England consults on letting clearing houses accept tokenised collateral
The Bank says current rules don't stop UK CCPs taking tokenised versions of eligible collateral, and proposes supervisory expectations for doing so. Comments close on 12 February 2027.
SEC exempts some inter-affiliate and non-US repo trades from the Treasury clearing mandate
An SEC order of 30 October lets firms leave certain repo trades with non-US clients and with affiliates uncleared, under a cap that falls from 25% to 10% by mid-2030.
CFTC to hold a public roundtable on 24/7 trading in derivatives markets on 15 December
The CFTC will host an industry roundtable at its Washington headquarters on whether US derivatives markets can move to round-the-clock trading, building on its request for comment this summer.
Payment for order flow explained: how PFOF works in US stocks and options, and the rules behind it
Brokers can be paid to send your orders to particular market makers. How payment for order flow works in US stocks and options, how to read a Rule 606 report, and where the rules stand in 2026.
Insider trading in prediction markets: the US rules on event contracts, and the cases so far
Trading an event contract on misappropriated information, or on an outcome you control, can break federal law and exchange rules. What applies, what regulators have flagged, and the cases brought in 2026.
CFTC sues Utah to stop state action against registered prediction markets
The CFTC has filed a lawsuit to block Utah's civil enforcement actions against CFTC-registered contract markets, saying federal law gives it exclusive jurisdiction.
Hong Kong's SFC approves round-the-clock trading of tokenised money market funds
Two tokenised money market funds began secondary trading on a licensed virtual asset platform on 26 October, which the SFC calls a world first for tokenised public funds.
CFTC and the NBA agree to share information on basketball prediction markets
The CFTC has signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Basketball Association to exchange information on the integrity of basketball and the event contract markets tied to it.
Crypto custody explained: how exchanges and custodians hold your coins
Who holds the private keys, what segregation means on-chain and in law, what EU and New York rules require, and what the FTX and Celsius failures showed customers.
FCA chief says 24/7 trading, AI agents and prediction markets are testing market integrity
Nikhil Rathi told the City's annual dinner at Mansion House that threats to market integrity are as serious as he has seen, and that the FCA will use its existing powers more assertively.
ESMA sets final rules for post-trade risk reduction services exempt from EU clearing
ESMA has published draft technical standards setting the conditions under which compression, rebalancing and similar OTC derivatives services can use the EMIR 3 clearing exemption.
ESMA completes EU T+1 rulebook with a year to go before the switch
ESMA published its final guidance for the EU's move to T+1 settlement on 11 October 2027 and told firms to start testing. New allocation and confirmation rules apply from 7 December 2026.
FSB tells the G20 that cross-border oversight of global stablecoins is still immature
A Financial Stability Board note sent to G20 finance ministers finds that rules for foreign-issued stablecoins are uncertain in many jurisdictions and that stablecoin data are hard to rely on.
CFTC proposes defining event contracts as swaps and excludes casino-style gambling
The CFTC has proposed writing event contracts on sports, politics, culture and weather into the definition of a swap, and adopted an interim final rule excluding licensed casino-style gambling from it.
ESMA asks for evidence on tokenised collateral at EU clearing houses
The EU markets regulator wants views by 15 January 2027 on whether, and under what conditions, central counterparties could safely accept tokenised collateral.
CFTC seeks comment on a federal framework for retail crypto asset trading
The CFTC has published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on retail crypto asset transactions and a new kind of exchange registration built for them. Comments are due 60 days after Federal Register publication.
CFTC staff clear a path to true perpetual futures on broad-based stock indices
A CFTC no-action letter lets US futures exchanges remove expiry dates from perpetual-style broad-based security index futures, subject to customer protection conditions. The relief expires on 20 October 2026.
ECB's Pontes now settles tokenised trades in central bank money, with 24/7 hours planned
Pontes went live on 21 September 2026. ECB board member Isabel Schnabel set out its next steps in London on 1 October, and the Governing Council published its go-live record on 2 October.
SEC staff seek comment on exchanges that own affiliated broker-dealers
The SEC's trading and markets staff are asking for views on exchanges with affiliated brokers, after four new security futures exchanges disclosed links to futures commission merchants.
Spot bitcoin and ether ETFs: what the SEC approvals changed for traders
Since January 2024, US investors have been able to buy exchange-listed shares in trusts that hold bitcoin, and later ether. Here is what the SEC actually approved, how the funds work, and how owning a share differs from owning the coin.
Statement on Proposed Regulatory Framework for Stablecoins by Governor Michael S. Barr
Fed Governor Michael Barr backs the Board's GENIUS Act stablecoin proposal as a first step, stresses redemption at par under stress and voices concern about its anti-money-laundering enforcement standard.
CFTC Staff Releases Updates to FAQs Concerning Registrants and Registered Entity Activities Relating to Crypto Assets and Blockchain Technologies
Three CFTC divisions update their crypto FAQs to cover investing customer funds in tokenized forms of permitted investments and using blockchains to meet registrants’ recordkeeping requirements.
Federal Reserve Board requests public comment on two proposals related to establishing a regulatory framework for Board-supervised payment stablecoin issuers under the GENIUS Act
The Fed Board proposes reserve, capital and risk-management rules for the stablecoin issuers it supervises under the GENIUS Act, plus an application process for banks that want to issue them.
Looking for Change in Haystacks: Remarks before SIFMA’s Digital Assets Conference
In her penultimate week at the SEC, Commissioner Hester Peirce explains the Innovation Exemption for tokenized stocks and argues that zero-knowledge proofs and shared identity checks could shrink KYC data haystacks.
Discount Window Modernization and Treasury Market Functioning
Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson describes how the discount window is being modernised and how its acceptance of Treasury securities as collateral connects it to the functioning of the Treasury market.
SEC Issues “Innovation Exemption” to Facilitate the Trading of Tokenized NMS Stock and Request for Comment
The SEC grants temporary, conditional exemptions letting Tokenized Securities Venues trade tokenized NMS stock through permissioned automated market makers, with limits on symbols and volume and a five-year sunset.
Operation Economic Outcast Disrupts Digital Asset Exchange Enabling the Iranian Regime
Treasury's OFAC sanctions BitBank, an Iranian crypto exchange it says moved hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin to the IRGC, together with its developer and three associates of Babak Zanjani.
What a liquidity provider does, and why it matters to traders
Between a retail trader's click and the interbank market sits a chain of banks, prime brokers, aggregators and bridges. Understanding that chain explains a lot about spreads, fills and rejections.
Keynote Address by Acting Chairman Caroline D. Pham, FIA EXPO
Acting CFTC Chairman Caroline Pham on the agency’s 2025 record and its 12-month Crypto Sprint: listed spot crypto trading, tokenized collateral including stablecoins, and rules for blockchain infrastructure.
A Global Stablecoin Glut: Implications for Monetary Policy
Fed Governor Stephen Miran examines how growth in dollar stablecoins could add to foreign demand for Treasury bills and other dollar assets, and what that could mean for the neutral rate, the dollar and monetary policy.
Innovation and Market Structure: Keynote Address by Acting Chairman Caroline D. Pham, Piper Sandler Global Exchange and Trading Conference 2025
Then-Acting CFTC Chairman Caroline Pham on the agency’s regulatory agenda, exchange self-certification, and public comment on 24/7 trading, perpetual derivatives and direct retail clearing.
The Mother: Opening Remarks for Trading Roundtable
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce opens the Crypto Task Force’s second roundtable with questions on pairs trading of securities against stablecoins, jurisdictional gaps and limited-scale market testing by intermediaries.
Recent Developments in Hedge Funds’ Treasury Futures and Repo Positions: is the Basis Trade “Back"?
Board economists read CFTC futures data and OFR cleared-repo data for signs that hedge funds' Treasury cash-futures basis trade was rebuilding in 2023, and explain why the leveraged trade matters for financial stability.
Exercise Caution with Crypto Asset Securities: Investor Alert
The SEC’s investor-education office on why crypto asset securities and the platforms that trade them may lack registration, audited financials, custody rules and SIPC coverage, and why “proof of reserves” is no audit.
The U.S. Dollar and Central Bank Digital Currencies
Governor Waller argues the dollar's dominance rests on fundamentals rather than technology, so neither foreign CBDCs nor a US CBDC would change it, while dollar stablecoins may increase the dollar's primacy abroad.
The Treasury Market Flash Event of February 25, 2021
Board economists dissect the February 25, 2021 Treasury flash event, when prices dropped sharply after the results of a 7-year note auction and recovered within about an hour, and compare it with earlier episodes.
What Happened? What Have We Learned From It? Lessons from COVID-19 Stress on the Financial System
Vice Chair for Supervision Randal Quarles gives his account of the March 2020 turmoil: which parts of the financial system came under stress, from money funds to the Treasury market, why, and what reforms it calls for.
What Do Quoted Spreads Tell Us About Machine Trading at Times of Market Stress? Evidence from Treasury and FX Markets during the COVID-19-Related Market Turmoil in March 2020
Board economists use high-frequency quote data to show how bid-ask spreads in Treasury cash, Treasury futures and FX futures markets behaved in the March 2020 turmoil, and what that says about machine trading.