SEC and CFTC Open 60-Day Public Comment Period on Crypto Derivatives and Portfolio Margin Rules
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have launched a joint review of rules governing crypto-linked derivatives and margin practices, opening a 60-day window for public comment once the request is published in the Federal Register.
The agencies are asking market participants to weigh in on portfolio margining and cross-product risk management across securities, swaps, futures, and related positions. The goal is to evaluate whether closer SEC–CFTC coordination could strengthen risk controls, tighten customer protections, and reduce potential regulatory gaps between securities and commodities markets.
Portfolio margining allows firms to assess risk across connected positions rather than applying separate margin requirements to each product. When positions offset each other, the approach can reduce collateral trapped in multiple accounts. Regulators are also seeking feedback on cross-margining models, acceptable collateral, clearinghouse arrangements, operational requirements, capital treatment, and segregation rules.
The review follows recent U.S. approvals that bring crypto perpetual futures further into the regulated market spotlight. Kalshi received CFTC approval to list perpetual futures tied to Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, and HYPE. Unlike traditional futures, perpetual contracts do not have a fixed expiration date, a design feature that has intensified debate over how these products should be classified and supervised.
CME Group has challenged the CFTC's approval of Kalshi's crypto perpetual futures in court, arguing the contracts should be regulated as swaps rather than futures because they lack an end date. The CFTC has countered that the absence of an expiration date does not, by itself, strip a product of futures status. The distinction is significant because swaps and futures face different regimes for clearing, reporting, execution, margin, and intermediary obligations.
SEC Chair Paul Atkins said stronger interagency coordination could reduce overlap, and cited cross-margining as a potential way to unlock liquidity currently separated across accounts. CFTC Chair Michael Selig endorsed the effort as a risk-management exercise, saying cooperation could help release capital while preserving market safeguards.
The agencies' move comes amid broader legal and policy scrutiny of derivatives and event-based contracts. The CFTC recently sued Kentucky after the state sought to apply gaming laws to prediction market operators, with the agency asserting federal authority over regulated futures, options, and swaps. Kentucky argues sports-linked event contracts should remain subject to state gambling rules.
Separately, the SEC and CFTC also sought public input earlier this week on derivatives definitions, covering swaps, security-based swaps, mixed swaps, event contracts, and newer financial products. Together, these initiatives reflect the pace of product innovation in digital asset markets and growing pressure to clarify how crypto-linked contracts fit within existing U.S. regulatory frameworks.
