CFTC’s FBOT Reverses Biden-era Overreach That Drove Crypto Trading Offshore

Regulatory pendulum swings back as CFTC's Foreign Board of Trade designation cuts through bureaucratic red tape.

Restoring Competitive Balance

The move effectively bypasses previous administration's restrictive measures that pushed billions in daily trading volume overseas. Market makers and institutional players had been fleeing U.S. jurisdiction for more crypto-friendly hubs like Singapore and Switzerland.

Trading Floors Reopen

Expect liquidity to flood back stateside as platforms regain compliance pathways without sacrificing global reach. The reversal acknowledges what traders knew all along: capital flows where it's treated best—regulators just finally caught up.

Wall Street's going to hate the competition.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced on Thursday that it is further aligning with President Donald Trump’s agenda to welcome back crypto investors in the United States. The CFTC’s division of market oversight issued an advisory to the foreign board of trade (FBOT) regarding crypto exchanges not legally registered in the U.S..

According to CFTC’s FBOT, investors in the United States can now trade with crypto exchanges not registered in the country, but that are regulated in other jurisdictions. The advisory change will enable crypto exchanges that were pushed offshore during the Biden era to gradually return to the United States.

“Today’s FBOT advisory provides the regulatory clarity needed to legally onshore trading activity that was driven out of the United States due to the unprecedented regulation by enforcement approach of the past several years,” said Acting Chairman Caroline Pham. “By reaffirming the CFTC’s longstanding approach to provide U.S. traders with choice and access to the deepest and most liquid global markets, with a wide range of products and asset classes, American companies that were forced to set up shop in foreign jurisdictions to facilitate crypto asset trading now have a path back to U.S. markets.”

CFTC Joins SEC in Clear Crypto Regulations

The CFTC has moved at lightning speed to implement the crypto agenda for President Trump. Notably, the CFTC has been implementing clear web3 regulations through its Crypto Sprint initiative, which is almost similar to the SEC’s Project Crypto.

Both regulatory agencies have made several changes that have made crypto investing in the United States much easier. As a result, the crypto market has attracted more institutional investors seeking to hedge against high inflation. 

For instance, U.S.-registered crypto companies have been listing digital assets that were not issued in the country, led by Toncoin (TON) and Tron (TRX). Additionally, more corporate entities have been implementing crypto treasury strategies to further hedge against inflation.