The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is preparing to permit spot Bitcoin and other digital assets to trade under federal regulation for the first time.
The move aligns with the launch of Bitnomial Inc.’s exchange, set to go live next week.
Acting Chairman Caroline Pham stated that spot Bitcoin and crypto products will now be eligible for listing on CFTC-registered markets.
Bitnomial will introduce leveraged spot Bitcoin and crypto trading through its Designated Contract Market and Derivatives Clearing Organization.
The platform will offer spot, perpetuals, futures, and options in one venue, using portfolio margining and net settlement to consolidate collateral requirements.
“Leveraged spot crypto trading is now available under the same regulatory framework as U.S. perpetuals, futures, and options,” said Luke Hoersten, Bitnomial’s founder and CEO.
“Broker intermediation and Clearinghouse net settlement provide the capital efficiency traders need. We’re bringing leveraged spot crypto trading back to the U.S. with CFTC oversight.”
Pham described the framework as an effort to provide U.S. traders with regulated options instead of offshore platforms.
Citing the collapse of FTX, she told Fox Business that “Americans [should] come back home to trade where they have the protections they deserve.”
The CFTC stated that all orders on Bitnomial’s exchange, retail or institutional, will be treated equally, without preferential routing.
The agency also indicated that the structure simplifies compliance for brokers that previously faced state-level licensing hurdles.
Under the updated approach, certain retail commodity transactions can trade on a DCM and clear through a DCO, establishing a compliant avenue for leveraged spot trading in the United States.
Bitnomial’s exchange is scheduled to open during the week of December 8th, 2025.
The development comes as Polymarket, a crypto-based prediction market, launches a U.S. application following CFTC clearance.
The company reentered the U.S. market through its $112 million acquisition of QCEX and implemented updated surveillance, reporting, and clearing systems to meet regulatory standards.
Polymarket now accepts Bitcoin deposits in addition to stablecoins.
The CFTC, created in 1974, traditionally regulates derivatives markets such as futures and swaps.
Its recent actions extend federal oversight into parts of the Bitcoin and digital asset spot market as regulators adapt existing frameworks to new financial products.
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