Catenaa, Tuesday, December 09, 2025- The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission launched a pilot program allowing bitcoin, ether and the USDC stablecoin to be used as collateral in regulated derivatives markets.
Acting Chair Caroline Pham said the move is part of a broader push to update oversight for digital assets while maintaining reporting rules for firms.
The program follows recent steps to define how crypto fits into existing market structures. Last week, Bitnomial became the first exchange to list regulator-approved spot crypto products.
The agency said futures commission merchants using digital assets as collateral will file weekly reports showing total holdings in customer accounts.
They must also disclose any major system issues affecting those assets.
A letter posted by the CFTC noted this approach builds on earlier plans to expand tokenized collateral in trading.
The agency also withdrew a staff advisory that restricted virtual currencies as customer collateral. Officials said the rule was outdated after new stablecoin legislation took effect.
Coinbase welcomed the change and said regulated use of stablecoins and other digital assets can lower payment costs and reduce counterparty risk. Industry firms expect more pilot activity to test crypto instruments inside traditional markets.
The CFTC has rolled out several crypto initiatives this year, including a regulatory sprint program and a proposal for a digital asset sandbox. More assets could be added to the collateral program if early reports show smooth operations.
