CFTC Chair Says Agency Updating Rules for DeFi, Onchain Markets and Regulated Perpetual Futures

U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Michael Selig said on March 3 that the agency is updating its rulebook to accommodate decentralized finance and onchain software systems, remarks made during a Milken Institute panel with SEC Chairman Paul Atkins show. Selig said the CFTC and SEC are jointly developing clearer taxonomy for crypto assets, including guidance on when DeFi protocols, onchain markets and frontends fall under existing derivatives regulations. He added that regulated perpetual futures could begin trading on U.S. platforms within the next month and that the agencies are preparing clarity for prediction market platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket, including an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking and standards for self-certified products. Selig's comments follow the CFTC's recent amicus brief in Nevada supporting Crypto.com on federal oversight of prediction markets and come alongside the SEC's Project Crypto initiative to modernize securities rules as Congress debates a comprehensive crypto market structure bill.