CFTC’s Pham Leverages Existing Authority to Bring Spot Crypto to DCMs, Reshaping Market Structure

Acting CFTC Chair Caroline Pham is initiating a fundamental change in US crypto market structure.

By interpreting the Commodity Exchange Act to require that leveraged retail commodity trading must happen on regulated exchanges, she is opening the door for Designated Contract Markets (DCMs)—including CME, Cboe, and ICE—to offer spot crypto products.

This strategic end-run around Congressional inaction would bring margin, leverage, and financing to the spot market under the CFTC’s watchful eye, directly integrating crypto-native firms like Coinbase Derivatives into a long-established regulatory framework and competing directly with unregulated offshore entities.