CFTC Announces Launch of First Leveraged Spot Cryptocurrency Listed on a CFTC-Regulated Exchange

Listing of Leveraged Spot Cryptocurrency

On December 4, 2025, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced the upcoming launch of the first leveraged spot cryptocurrency product to be listed on a CFTC-regulated exchange,[1] Bitnomial Exchange, LLC (“Bitnomial”).[2] Bitnomial is a CFTC-regulated designated contract market (DCM) that operates with an associated CFTC-registered derivatives clearing organization.[3] This announcement also comes as the National Futures Association (NFA) announced updates to its own digital asset rules.

Acting CFTC Chairman Caroline D. Pham called the listing of Bitnomial’s leveraged spot cryptocurrency product “a significant step forward in the Trump Administration’s pledge to usher in a Golden Age of Innovation and make America the ‘crypto capital of the world.’”[4]  

Regulatory Background

This announcement is a part of the CFTC’s “Crypto Sprint,” an initiative to implement the recommendations set forth in the White House Digital Assets Report.[5] As part of that effort, Acting Chairman Pham announced on August 4, 2025 an initiative to facilitate the trading of spot digital asset contracts on CFTC-registered DCMs.[6] Shortly thereafter, on September 2, 2025, the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a joint statement outlining a coordinated effort to enable the trading of certain spot digital asset products and expressed the collective view that current law does not prohibit, among other things, a CFTC-registered DCM from listing and facilitating trading in certain spot digital asset products under Section 2(c)(2)(D) of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) (i.e., the retail commodity transaction provisions).[7]

Section 2(c)(2)(D) of the CEA grants the CFTC jurisdiction over retail commodity transactions that are leveraged, margined, or financed, treating such transactions “as if” they were futures contracts and requiring them to be listed on a registered board of trade (i.e., a DCM), unless an exception applies. One exception is for spot transactions where actual delivery occurs within 28 days (see Section 2(c)(2)(D)(ii)(III)(aa) of the CEA).[8]

According to Bitnomial’s current rulebook, Bitnomial “is authorized to designate for listing and trading commodity spot contracts (“Spot Contracts”), including where applicable, those Spot Contracts that constitute retail commodity transactions, as defined by CEA Section 2(c)(2)(D).”[9] In addition, “all Spot Contracts shall be treated…as if they are futures contracts” and “as retail commodity transactions regardless of whether any individual transaction may ultimately qualify for the actual delivery exemption under CEA Section 2(c)(2)(D)(ii)(III)(aa).”[10] Bitnomial’s treatment of such spot contracts is consistent with the joint CFTC-SEC position that DCMs are not prohibited from facilitating the trading of certain spot digital asset products under Section 2(c)(2)(D) of the CEA.[11] 

Updates for NFA Members Engaging in Digital Asset Activities

In a parallel development, the NFA recently adopted amendments affecting disclosure requirements for NFA members engaging in digital asset activities, specifically the repeal of Interpretive Notice 9073 and the expansion of Compliance Rule 2‑51.[12] Interpretive Notice 9073, adopted in 2018, had imposed prescriptive disclosure requirements for members engaging in digital asset activities. However, the NFA determined, in light of Compliance Rule 2-51, which established anti-fraud, just and equitable principles of trade, and supervision requirements on members engaged in activities involving Bitcoin and Ether, that the requirements of Interpretive Notice 9073 had become superfluous and should be repealed.

Conclusion

The listing of spot leveraged cryptocurrency products on Bitnomial is a notable shift in U.S. digital asset regulation, permitting market participants to trade in leveraged spot cryptocurrency products on a CFTC-regulated exchange. This development is an example of the CFTC’s willingness to work promptly with market participants on a case-by-case basis to enable spot trading of digital assets under the existing CFTC regulatory regimes.[13]

[1] CFTC Release No. 9145-25: Acting Chairman Pham Announces First-Ever Listed Spot Crypto Trading on U.S. Regulated Exchanges (Dec. 4, 2025). See also Bitnomial Announces Launch of First-Ever US Leveraged Retail Spot Crypto Exchange (Dec. 4, 2025).

[2] For additional information, please refer to Bitnomial’s regulatory filings and Clearing Organization Rules. For example, BTNL 2025-33 – Self-Certification Pursuant to CFTC Regulation 40.6 – Bitnomial Exchange, LLC Spot Trading Rules and Related Updates (Nov. 13, 2025); BTNL 2025-35 - Self-Certification Pursuant to CFTC Regulation 40.6 – Bitnomial Exchange, LLC and Bitnomial Clearinghouse, LLC – Rule 813 and Spot-related Policy and Procedure Update (Nov. 13, 2025); and BTNL 2025-35 - Self-Certification Pursuant to CFTC Regulation 40.6 – Bitnomial Exchange, LLC and Bitnomial Clearinghouse, LLC – Rulebook Changes and Spot-related Policy and Procedure Update (Nov. 13, 2025).

[3] Bitnomial Announces Launch of First-Ever US Leveraged Retail Spot Crypto Exchange (Dec. 4, 2025).

[4] Supra note 1.

[5] Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology (July 30, 2025).

[6] CFTC Release No. 9105-25: Acting Chairman Pham Launches Listed Spot Crypto Trading Initiative (Aug. 4, 2025).

[7] SEC-CFTC Joint Staff Statement (Project Crypto-Crypto Sprint) (Sept. 2, 2025).

[8] 7 U.S.C. § 2(c)(2)(D)(ii)(III)(aa). With respect to the meaning of “actual delivery” in the context of digital assets, please refer to the CFTC’s guidance in 85 Fed. Reg. 37734 (June 24, 2020).

[9] Supra note 2 at Rule 514.

[10] Id.

[11] Bitnomial’s rulebook and changes thereto have been self-certified pursuant to 17 C.F.R. § 40.6(a). Based on publicly available information, the CFTC did not object within the statutory review period and, as such, Bitnomial’s self-certification became effective automatically upon expiration of that period.

[12] NFA updates Member digital asset commodity-related requirements by repealing Interpretive Notice 9073 and amending Compliance Rule 2-51 (Dec. 3, 2025).

[13] Supra note 6. See also Joint Statement from the Chairman of the SEC and Acting Chairman of the CFTC (Sept. 5, 2025).