The Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued new guidance on September 17 that could significantly expand how everyday users access crypto and prediction market trading. The U.S. agency ov
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued new guidance on September 17 that could significantly expand how everyday users access crypto and prediction market trading. The U.S. agency oversees derivatives and commodities markets.
The CFTC said it will not pursue enforcement action against companies that build software connecting users to regulated exchanges. That's as long as those companies never hold user funds or make trading decisions on their behalf.
The guidance applies to what the agency calls "passive software providers", apps and platforms that let users place trades through regulated intermediaries without themselves acting as brokers.
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Previously, any company that accepted or routed trade orders to a futures commission merchant — a type of regulated broker — and earned fees for doing so was generally required to register as a broker itself. That requirement kept many crypto wallets and consumer apps from offering direct trading access to regulated markets.
In March, the CFTC granted a specific exemption to Phantom Technologies, a crypto wallet with more than 20 million users, allowing it to connect users to platforms like Kalshi, a CFTC-designated contract market, without registering as a broker. Thursday's guidance extends that same relief broadly to any software provider that meets the same conditions.
The practical effect is that crypto wallets, fintech apps and other consumer platforms can now plug into regulated exchanges and offer trading access to their users without the cost and complexity of becoming registered brokers.
The software provider must remain "passive" — meaning it cannot hold funds, give trading advice or exercise discretion over orders.
The guidance comes two days after the CLARITY Act, the crypto industry's preferred legislative route to regulatory clarity, failed to clear the Senate. Both the CFTC and SEC have since signaled they will continue building rules on their own authority rather than waiting on Congress.
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