CFTC Announces No Enforcement for Passive Trading Software Providers Meeting Conditions

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has announced it will not recommend enforcement action against cryptocurrency trading software providers meeting specific criteria regarding non-compliance with introducer broker (IB) registration requirements. The CFTC's Market Participants Division (MPD) issued this no-action position on April 17 for passive software providers. This stance applies to companies offering or promoting software that assists users in trading through registered commodity futures brokers (FCMs), introducers (IBs), or designated contract markets (DCMs). The CFTC noted the position is similar to its March approach toward Phantom Technologies, while expanding the scope to cover general software providers under certain conditions. Similarly, the SEC also indicated in April that cryptocurrency trading interface providers connected to self-custody wallets may operate without broker-dealer registration if they meet specific criteria.