The CFTC Just Approved U.S. Spot Crypto Trading

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GM!

Today’s top news:

• Crypto majors dip 2-4% overnight; BTC at $91,300

• Larry Fink says sovereign wealth funds are buying the BTC dip

• CFTC approves spot crypto trading in US, starting with Bitnomial

• Jack Maller’s Twenty One approved to list on NYSE, with $4B in BTC

• MetaMask integrates Polymarket in wallet; Kalshi partners with CNBC; Myriad introduces Pools

Barriers keep falling down, and institutional adoption is here.

The CFTC has formally approved spot crypto trading on CFTC-regulated exchanges, a first in the U.S.

Newly approved rules allow CFTC-registered exchanges to list spot Bitcoin and Ethereum markets. And Bitnomial is expected to be the first venue to launch under the new framework.

Until now, spot crypto trading in the U.S. has lived in a regulatory gray zone.

CFTC Gives Green Light to Spot Crypto Trading as Bitnomial Exchange Readies for Launch

It was supervised indirectly but never explicitly approved.

This is the first time that the CFTC has authorized a federally regulated spot market.

And it comes in a hallmark week that included Vanguard and Charles Schwab opening their doors to spot crypto ETF trading.

“For the first time ever, spot crypto can trade on CFTC-registered exchanges that have been the gold standard for nearly a hundred years, with the customer protections and market integrity that Americans deserve.” – CFTC Chair Caroline Pham

The U.S. now has the beginnings of a fully regulated spot crypto market, something institutions have been waiting for for years.

At the same time, retail investors at Schwab and Vanguard, two of the largest brokerages in the country, now have the ability to buy crypto ETFs with the click of a few buttons.

This is what has been accomplished in the past few months:

It’s never been easier to enter the crypto market than it is right now.

Now we will see who indeed enters. And who all of this plumbing is being built for…

A few Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:

• Crypto majors are red and down 2-4%; BTC -2% at $91,400; ETH -2% at $3,130, BNB -2% at $893, SOL -4% at $136

• ZEC (+4%) and TRX (+2%) led top movers

• BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said sovereign wealth funds have been steadily accumulating Bitcoin, and “bought more” as BTC fell from $126K into the $80K range to build long-term positions

• The IMF warned stablecoin adoption could weaken central bank control in a new report on currency substitution and monetary sovereignty risks

• Solana and Coinbase’s Base network were connected via a new bridge secured by Chainlink and Coinbase infra

• The CFTC approved spot crypto trading on CFTC-registered exchanges, with Bitnomial up first

• Reform UK received Britain’s largest-ever political donation from a living donor, a Tether-linked investor who contributed $11.4M

• Recent research suggested that October-November’s ~$4B Bitcoin ETF outflows came mainly from leveraged basis-trade unwinds across major funds rather than panic-selling