That was a historic moment for the US and the global crypto community. On September 29, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) convened for a roundtable discussion with special focus on digital assets. Both agencies had to wait for 15 years to conduct a roundtable like this, which sparked curiosity and optimism among crypto enthusiasts.
Crypto at the heart of SEC and CFTC roundtable
The roundtable was aimed at regulatory harmonization across all markets involving digital assets. However, the focal domain was digital assets and the related innovations. The joint roundtable gathered regulators, market participants, and industry leaders. Crypto firms and institutions like Kraken, Crypto.com, Polymarket, Robinhood Markets, Kalshi, Bank of America, and JP Morgan have participated in the panel discussion.
As SEC Chair Paul Atkins noted, the SEC and CFTC have operated in conflicts, “leaving the American public to bear the costs of duplication, delay, and uncertainty.” And now, both parties are charting a new course to strengthen America’s position as the world’s financial leader.
For CFTC Acting Chair Caroline Pham, “it is a new day and the turf war”. The SEC and CFTC have long overseen sections related to financial markets; however, regulatory insights for both teams have not always been certain, added Caroline Pham.
Focuses on harmonization, not a merger
There have been numerous talks around the SEC and CFTC’s merger, but the SEC Chair shot down the idea. He clearly emphasized that the agencies are focused completely on regulatory harmonization and not on a merger, “which would be up to Congress and the President”.
Clear rules guide market integrity
The discussion for harmonization stressed the benefits of a successful regulatory engagement — consistent rules, efficient compliance, and investor confidence, whereas the impacts of a bad regulatory engagement are higher costs, duplicative oversight, and no meaningful gains in investor protection or market integrity.
Other key points discussed
The roundtable, as outlined in its goals last week, discussed,
- Exploring the possibility of 24/7 trading hours for traditional markets
- Establishing clear rules on when event contracts can be listed on U.S. prediction markets
- Onshoring derivatives without set expiry dates onto SEC- and CFTC-regulated platforms.
- Developing a coordinated framework for portfolio margining
- Introducing temporary safe zones that would allow peer-to-peer crypto trading of spot, leveraged, or margined crypto assets on DeFi platforms.
The SEC has been playing a leading role in bringing America’s crypto vision, particularly since the start of President Donald Trump’s administration in January 2025. Its latest move, introducing general listing standards for crypto ETFs, has led to a surge in new crypto ETF launches and boosted investor participation in the market. The SEC has been more focused on crypto as securities, while the CTC has been concentrating on crypto as commodities. Now, both agencies are working closely to mitigate regulatory overlap and provide clearer rules for digital assets.
