The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s staff divisions updated their crypto-asset FAQs on September 24 to address tokenized customer-fund investments and blockchain-based recordkeeping. The central clarification is narrow but consequential for regulated derivatives firms: tokenization can be used for an investment that is already permitted for customer funds, rather than creating a separate class of eligible assets.
The update was issued by the CFTC’s Market Participants Division, Division of Market Oversight and Division of Clearing and Risk, according to the agency’s announcement. It addresses both futures commission merchants, or FCMs, and derivatives clearing organizations, while setting out how firms may use distributed-ledger systems for records that regulations require them to retain.
The FAQs are staff views rather than binding rules. Their practical importance therefore rests on how firms can meet the underlying investment, record-preservation and regulatory-access standards while adopting tokenized or on-chain systems.
Tokenized forms of Regulation 1.25 investments
For customer funds, the CFTC’s FAQ permits an FCM or derivatives clearing organization to use a tokenized form of an investment otherwise allowed under Regulation 1.25. That permission is available only where the tokenized form satisfies all applicable requirements.
The FAQ applies to both FCMs and derivatives clearing organizations. It leaves Regulation 1.25’s investment categories unchanged: tokenization does not create a new permitted category, and the underlying investment must already be eligible.
The requirements that apply to the investment and the customer-fund framework also apply to the tokenized structure.
Blockchain records must remain accessible during disruptions
The staff addressed blockchain and distributed-ledger technology for required records, stating that CFTC Regulations 1.31 and 45.2 are technology-neutral. A Lowenstein Sandler review said those systems may be used if they provide authenticity, reliability, prompt production and regulatory access.
A blockchain-based system may therefore serve as the recordkeeping system, but the records must remain promptly producible and available to regulators when required. The relevant standard is continued usability, not the particular technology used to store the records.
Firms do not necessarily need separate off-chain copies of records held through blockchain infrastructure. They must preserve and produce the required records during disruptions involving a network, a block explorer or other relevant infrastructure, as reported by Unchained. A ledger’s existence alone is insufficient if the system cannot maintain those recordkeeping capabilities during an interruption.
September update extends the March crypto FAQ initiative
The September additions build on a CFTC FAQ initiative launched on March 20, 2026. The initial release covered crypto assets, tokenized collateral and digital assets accepted as margin collateral, according to the agency’s March announcement.
The latest material extends that work into two adjacent areas: the treatment of tokenized versions of investments permitted for customer funds and the recordkeeping standards for blockchain systems. In both cases, the staff did not frame the answers as a new rulebook for digital assets. The update applies existing investment and records obligations to newer forms of infrastructure and representation.
For regulated firms, that leaves operational resilience and regulatory access at the centre of implementation. The ability to use a tokenized investment or an on-chain record does not displace the requirement to satisfy the conditions attached to customer funds and required records.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
