The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Monday launched a pilot program to allow digital asset selection – Bitcoin Ether and U.S. Dollar Coin (USDC) or other payment stablecoins – used as collateral in the U.S. derivatives market.
The plan, announced by Acting Chair Caroline Pham, is part of a broader push to provide market participants with clear rules for the use of tokenized collateral, including tokenized versions of real-world assets such as U.S. Treasuries.
“Today, I will launch a U.S. digital asset pilot program for tokenized collateral, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, in our derivatives markets that establishes clear guardrails to protect customer assets and provides enhanced CFTC monitoring and reporting,” Fan said in a statement.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) began efforts to allow stablecoins to be used as collateral for certain products.
Currently, the program is only available to futures commission merchants (FCMs) that meet certain criteria. These companies can accept payment stablecoins such as BTC, ETH and USDC as margin collateral for futures and swaps, but must adhere to strict reporting and custody requirements. For the first three months, they must disclose digital asset holdings weekly and alert the Commodity Futures Trading Commission of any issues.
In practice, this could mean registered firms accepting Bitcoin as collateral for leveraged swaps linked to commodities, while the CFTC monitors operational risks and custody arrangements behind the scenes.
The agency also issued a no-action letter giving FCMs limited permission to hold certain digital assets in segregated client accounts, provided they manage risks carefully. Importantly, the CFTC rescinded old guidance from 2020 that effectively blocked the use of cryptocurrencies as collateral in many cases. This advice is now considered outdated, especially following the passage of the Genius Act, which updated federal rules regarding digital assets.
Industry executives applauded the move. “This significant unlocking is exactly what the administration and Congress hoped to achieve with the Genius Act,” Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal said in a statement shared by the CFTC.
The CFTC stressed that its rules remain technology neutral but said real-world tokenized assets such as U.S. Treasuries must still meet enforceability, custody and valuation standards.
