The CFTC’s inaugural Frontier Forum will examine AI’s impact on financial markets, including autonomous trading and regulatory oversight. Ripple, Coinbase and other firms want clearer rules f
The CFTC is examining AI-powered trading while Ripple, Coinbase and other crypto firms seek clearer securities rules from the SEC. The developments come as the Senate’s failure to advance the Clarity Act leaves questions about token trading, investment contracts and secondary-market transactions. The commodities regulator will discuss AI and financial markets at its inaugural Frontier Forum on Super Intelligence.
https://twitter.com/EleanorTerrett/status/2114839062607769978?s=20The CFTC’s Innovation Task Force will host the forum on Wednesday, bringing together leaders from finance, technology and crypto. Discussions will examine how advanced AI could reshape U.S. financial markets and how regulators should oversee AI-powered trading.
Representatives from Tempo, Hedera and Chainlink will attend alongside executives from Ornn, Liquid Compute and OneChronos. The Investment Company Institute, which represents the regulated fund industry, will also participate.
Meanwhile, crypto firms are exploring blockchain and stablecoins for autonomous AI transactions. Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss previously argued that crypto could serve machines more directly than humans.
The SEC’s proposed Regulation Crypto Assets has drawn comments from firms seeking clarity after the Clarity Act failed in the Senate last month. Although many companies supported the proposal, they raised concerns about when tokens stop being tied to investment contracts.
They also questioned how regulators would treat secondary-market trading, network upgrades and token buybacks. The Clarity Act had sought to address these issues through provisions covering qualifying tokens and ancillary assets.
Ripple’s legal battle over XRP highlighted disputes about applying securities laws to tokens. Coinbase also faced an SEC lawsuit in 2023 over alleged unregistered securities trading, but the agency dropped the case in 2025.
In its comment letter, Coinbase requested a higher fundraising cap for token offerings and clearer rules for airdrops and network rewards.
Separately, law firm Cahill Gordon & Reindel submitted an October 20 letter signed by contributors including securities attorney Lewis Cohen. The firm warned that independent participants still lack confidence about secondary-market obligations and called for an additional safe harbor.
However, the SEC cannot provide the certainty of federal legislation beyond its statutory authority. Bullish CEO Tom Farley raised this concern on the Crypto in America podcast, warning that a future SEC chair could reverse agency initiatives quickly. He said relying on agency action carries more risk than having federal law.
