CFTC Crypto Framework May Miss Deadline as 2028 Election Approaches

New federal rules for leveraged and margin crypto trading could arrive too late to become law, according to investment bank TD Cowen. In a Monday note, managing director Jaret Seiberg said the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s advance notice of proposed rulemaking, released last week, is a positive move for crypto platforms but the clock is working against it.

CFTC Rulemaking Timeline Concerns

Seiberg believes the agency will publish its proposal around late Q1 or early Q2 of 2027, with final rules potentially taking until early 2028. That leaves little room before the next presidential election, raising the chance the framework never gets finalized.

Proposed Crypto Platform Requirements

The proposed framework would force platforms to maintain proof-of-reserves audits and extend CFTC authority over state-licensed operations, though it avoids claiming outright jurisdiction over spot market transactions. The move follows the Senate’s failed attempt to pass broad crypto legislation that would have handed the CFTC permanent authority over spot trading.

At the time of writting crypto is volatile as $BTC sweep 81k and back above 83k.