US CFTC Eases Registration Requirements for Crypto Trading Software Providers

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced on April 17 (local time) that it will ease regulatory burdens for passive software providers meeting specific criteria, permitting them to support futures and derivatives trading without requiring introducer broker (IB) registration. The CFTC's Market Participants Division (MPD) stated that companies providing software connecting users to registered futures commission merchants (FCMs), introducer brokers (IBs), or exchanges will not face enforcement actions for lacking IB or related party (AP) registration. However, software providers directly involved in individual orders or offering buy/sell signals will be excluded from this exemption. This move expands a similar regulatory relief previously applied to self-custody crypto wallet provider Phantom in March.

American podcast host Eleanor Terrett of 'Crypto in America' commented that the CFTC is providing regulatory clarity for the cryptocurrency market.