The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has issued updated guidance welcoming tokenized assets and blockchain recordkeeping as standard industry practices for regulated firms.
In guidance issued Thursday, the CFTC clarified that platforms it oversees can invest customer funds in tokenized forms of assets already permitted under regulations. The agency specified that tokenized assets must grant holders legal and economic rights equivalent to those of the underlying asset in its traditional form, and that assets must be properly held.
The regulator also addressed blockchain use for official recordkeeping, stating that CFTC staff would not object to firms using blockchain or distributed ledger technologies to create and maintain records and satisfy recordkeeping obligations. This applies to any CFTC regulations involving recordkeeping and maintenance of regulatory data.
For firms using private blockchain networks, maintaining offline copies of records is not required. For firms using public and permissionless blockchains, the CFTC said regulated businesses should establish systems and controls enabling them to retain and produce records under any circumstances, including network disruptions or emergencies.
CFTC Chairman Mike Selig said in a statement: "I'm pleased to see staff update these frequently asked questions consistent with the agency's ongoing efforts to provide regulatory clarity for the crypto industry."
The guidance follows the U.S. Senate's failure to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which would have established a broader regulatory framework for the crypto industry and granted the CFTC authority over spot crypto markets.
