Regulation · 17 bars
From a 2025 pilot to new guidance this week, the derivatives regulator is setting ground rules for tokenized assets, stablecoins and onchain records.
The CFTC has moved from studying tokenized collateral to accepting it. Its 2025 pilot let a small set of firms post tokenized money-market assets against derivatives margin; the guidance that followed widened the list of eligible assets and, more importantly, said plainly that a blockchain record can serve as the legal record of transfer.
For anyone building with tokenized cash, that is the load-bearing sentence. Collateral rules are what force institutions to keep two sets of books: one onchain, one in a custodian's ledger. When the regulator accepts the onchain record as authoritative, the reconciliation burden starts to fall away.
The guidance is not a blanket approval of every token. Assets outside the eligible list, and arrangements that fail the control tests, remain outside the safe harbour. It also says nothing about tokenized equities or fund interests — those sit with the SEC.
Read more Kaltra Insights on tokenized private markets, regulation and onchain fund infrastructure.