SEC and CFTC commit to work together on crypto policy and introduction of new products

The United States' two most prominent financial market regulators have agreed to collaborate in a manner that fosters innovation, including crypto regulation and new digital asset products.

Both the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said Wednesday that they had entered into a Memorandum of Understanding, or MOU, that is meant "to guide coordination and collaboration between the two agencies to support lawful innovation, uphold market integrity, and ensure investor and customer protection."

“For decades, regulatory turf wars, duplicative agency registrations, and different sets of regulations between the SEC and CFTC have stifled innovation and pushed market participants to other jurisdictions,” SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said in a statement.

The SEC and CFTC said the agreement represents a commitment to foster innovation and treat market participants respectfully. Among their planned initiatives, the two agencies said they would work on federal policy that provides a "fit-for-purpose regulatory framework for crypto assets and other emerging technologies."

In the MOU, the two agencies also committed to "closely coordinating and cooperating to remove obstacles where appropriate, to the lawful introduction of ... crypto asset products."

Although MOUs are generally non-binding, the fact that the two agencies are officially voicing their intention to work closely together on policy measures that include crypto is likely a welcome sign for digital asset advocates. Although President Donald Trump’s administration has been more pro-crypto than the previous administration, there is still a lot of work to be done.

“America’s financial markets are the envy of the world because they scale and adapt to meet investor demands. Like our markets, the CFTC’s and SEC’s regulatory frameworks must also evolve and modernize to accommodate the needs of our market participants,” CFTC Chairman Michael Selig said. “This Memorandum of Understanding solidifies the agencies’ commitment to harmonize regulatory frameworks to provide comprehensive and seamless financial market oversight."