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On February 28, 2023, the National Futures Association (NFA) submitted the proposed adoption of NFA Compliance Rule 2-51 to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The new compliance rule will apply to NFA members, including commodity pool operators (CPOs) and commodity trading advisors (CTAs), engaged in activities involving digital asset commodities. For purposes of the…

By Keith Miller, Kari Larsen and Sarah Howland

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Settlements Timeline serves as an interactive compilation of select CFTC guidance, enforcement actions, and speeches relating to the application of the federal securities laws to digital assets. Beginning with the Order filed in September, 2015 by the CFTC requiring Coinflip and…

Every Friday afternoon the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) publishes its Commitments of Traders Report (“COT Reports”).

As explained at the CFTC’s website, these reports “provide a breakdown of each Tuesday’s open interest for futures and options on futures markets in which 20 or more traders hold positions equal to or above the reporting levels established by the CFTC.”  The data in respect of these Friday afternoon reports is provided to the CFTC by regulated market participants (futures commission merchants, clearing members, and foreign brokers and exchanges) on Wednesday morning of each week, with adjustments to the publication and reporting schedules to account for holidays.
Continue Reading Bitcoin Futures Contracts: A Look at CFTC Reports About the Types and Volume of Trading on U.S. Futures Exchanges

Earlier today, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) published a notice announcing that its Technology Advisory Committee (“TAC”) will hold a public meeting on January 26th to discuss issues related to blockchain and the potential application of distributed ledger technology to the derivatives market.  In addition to the blockchain related issues, the TAC will…

On September 24th, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) settled charges against TeraExchange LLC, a provisionally registered bitcoin swap execution facility (SEF).  The charges stem from a non-deliverable forward (“NDF”) contract based on the relative value of the U.S. Dollar and Bitcoin (the Bitcoin swap) executed over that SEF.

Background: Forwards and NDFs

A forward contract is an agreement between one party (the “Buyer”) and another party (the “Seller”) whereby the Buyer agrees to purchase something in the future from the Seller for a price that is agreed to …
Continue Reading 3…The Number of Weeks in a Row for Bitcoin Related CFTC Guidance…CFTC Settles With Bitcoin SEF Over Wash Sales / Prearranged Trading

On September 17th, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) announced an enforcement order and settlement against an unregistered bitcoin options trading platform. The order is notable for six reasons:

1) It is the first official pronouncement from the CFTC that, “Bitcoin and other virtual currencies are encompassed in the definition [of a commodity under the Commodity Exchange Act] and properly defined as commodities”.  This is significant since …
Continue Reading CFTC Brings First Enforcement Action Against Unregistered Bitcoin Options Trading Platform

The Global Markets Advisory Committee of the CFTC just annouced that it will consider two issues at an upcoming meeting:

1) Whether a clearing mandate is appropriate for NDFs, with a particular focus on how such a mandate would impact foreign exchange contracts; and

2) The CFTC’s jurisdiction with respect to derivatives contracts that reference…