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CFTC
Davis Polk Discusses Potential SEC and CFTC Updates to Classification Rules for Innovative Financial Products
The SEC and CFTC (the “Commissions”) have jointly requested public comment on how to draw clearer regulatory boundaries for classifying, within statutory bounds, innovative derivatives and related products that implicate the jurisdiction of the Commissions and whether there are opportunities …
Regulating DeFi Platforms
Decentralized finance, commonly referred to as DeFi, is often celebrated as a transformative innovation in financial markets. By replacing banks, broker-dealers, exchanges, clearinghouses, and other traditional intermediaries with smart contracts and decentralized protocols, DeFi promises faster transactions, lower costs, broader …
How CFTC’s Strategic Proposal for Restricting Some Event Contracts Falls Short
On June 10, the CFTC released a proposed rulemaking to govern the listing of event contracts (i.e., prediction products) on a set of subjects Congress identified as deserving of special scrutiny.[1] These subjects are, as specified in Commodity Exchange …
Cahill Discusses How Digital-Asset Perpetual Contracts Came Onshore
Key Takeaways
- Through four coordinated actions issued last month (an order, a policy statement, a no-action letter, and a staff advisory), the CFTC has brought digital asset perpetual contracts onshore by classifying them as futures, rather
Morrison & Foerster Discusses DOJ, CFTC Insider Trading Cases Based on Internet Search Trend Event Contracts
Sidley Discusses the First Prediction Market Insider Trading Case
On April 23, 2026, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced parallel criminal and civil enforcement actions against an active-duty U.S. Army servicemember, alleging that he used …
Paul Weiss Discusses Third Circuit Ruling on Exclusive CFTC Jurisdiction Over Sports-Related Event Contracts
On April 6, 2026, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) has exclusive jurisdiction over sports-related event contracts offered by Kalshi, becoming the first federal …
Sullivan & Cromwell Discusses CFTC Announcement of Enforcement Priorities
On March 31, 2026, CFTC Director of Enforcement David I. Miller delivered remarks at NYU Law School addressing three significant developments in the CFTC’s Division of Enforcement. First, Miller announced five enforcement priority areas going forward: (i) insider trading (including …
Cleary Discusses Prediction Market Considerations for Public Companies
Prediction markets allow participants to trade contracts on whether or not real-world events will occur. These platforms have grown rapidly, and contracts tied to specific company activity are now actively trading, including contracts on IPOs, mergers and acquisitions, earnings call …
Sidley Discusses CFTC Guidance, Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Prediction Markets
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or the Commission), under Chairman Michael Selig’s leadership, has taken an expansive view of its authority over prediction markets, arguing that the agency has exclusive jurisdiction over event contracts traded on designated contract …
John C. Coffee, Jr.: Event Contracts and Prediction Markets
Can I bet on a prediction market on whether the U.S. will bomb Iran before a specified date? Or, can I similarly bet there on whether the Ayatollah will be ousted from office (including as the result of his death …
SEC Chair Speaks on Fostering Regulatory Harmony Between SEC and CFTC
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. It is a pleasure to join you here at Boca 2026 – a gathering that represents both the depth of the derivatives industry and the dynamism of the ideas and infrastructure that undergird modern risk …
Morrison & Foerster Discusses SEC and CFTC’s Joint “Project Crypto” Initiative
On January 30, 2026, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair Michael Selig announced that Project Crypto—previously an SEC-led initiative—will proceed as a joint effort between the SEC and the CFTC…
Orrick Discusses the Clarity Act
The proposed Digital Asset Market Clarity Act would establish a comprehensive, top-down regulatory framework for digital assets that reflects a growing bipartisan push in Congress for clear oversight of the digital asset industry. On Nov. 9, 2025, the Senate Committee …
Skadden Discusses Democratic DeFi Proposal and Cryptoasset Market-Structure Regulation
- What’s new: Senate Democrats have introduced a DeFi proposal that creates a new regulatory framework for decentralized finance platforms, focusing on preventing illicit finance and regulatory arbitrage by applying existing securities market requirements to DeFi.
- Why it matters: The DeFi
Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto Discusses Confidentiality Protections for Whistleblowers
Guarantees of confidentiality and anonymity are important considerations for whistleblowers seeking to report information on violations to regulators and other public entities. These guarantees ensure the safety of whistleblowers when filing complaints, often against entities with substantial resources and some …
SEC Commissioner Speaks on Regulatory Harmonization Efforts
Innovations such as blockchain, AI, and DeFi promise to disrupt our markets in ways that are exciting to discuss. Equally important, though perhaps less exciting, is discussing how regulatory agencies should align their oversight when new ideas cut across jurisdictional …
Arnold & Porter Discusses the CLARITY Act
For over a decade, regulators, market participants, and Congress have wrestled with the challenge of regulating crypto assets. This relatively nascent asset class, underpinned by novel technology, has been difficult to regulate under existing financial regulatory frameworks. While both the …
Federal Judge Trips Over Tricky Statutory Language, Eviscerating CFTC Jurisdiction
Derivatives lawyers are not known to be an excitable bunch. But a recent opinion from the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Texas has derivatives lawyers excited, and not in a good way. The judge has vastly restricted …