Category: US Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Source: US Commodity Futures Trading Commission

WASHINGTON — The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Market Oversight today issued an advisory reminding designated contract markets about the proper procedures for submitting self-certifications of an event contract series.
The advisory addresses concerns about the practice of submitting broad, template-style certifications that combine many potential event contract variations into a single certification. 
As detailed in the advisory, this approach limits DMO’s ability to determine whether a DCM has provided all the information, explanation, and analysis required by Commission Regulation § 40.2, and whether it has adequately evaluated the settlement methodology, data sources, and core-principles compliance of any contract it intends to list on the DCM.
The guidance reiterates that broad, template-style certifications should not be submitted. It also explains when closely related event contracts may be certified as a class or submitted for approval under Commission Regulations §§ 40.2(d) or 40.3.

Source: US Commodity Futures Trading Commission

CFTC Staff Issues No-Action Position on Designated Contract Market Procedures | CFTC

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July 24, 2026

WASHINGTON — The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Market Oversight today announced it has issued a no-action letter to Kraken Derivatives Exchange Inc., formerly Small Exchange Inc., a designated contract market, which addresses certain procedures related to dormancy. 
The no-action position is time-limited and subject to the terms and conditions in the division’s no-action letter.   
This position is in response to a request from Kraken Derivatives Exchange Inc. to extend the no-action position granted to KDE in CFTC Letter No. 25-46. 

-CFTC-

Source: US Commodity Futures Trading Commission

CFTC Extends Public Comment Period on Proposed Rule on the Extension of Standard Futures Contracts to 24/7 Trading and on Perpetual Contracts Referencing Physically Delivered or Storable Energy Commodities | CFTC

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July 23, 2026

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is extending the deadline for public comment on two related developments in the energy derivatives markets: the extension of standard futures contracts to 24/7 trading and the potential listing of energy commodity perpetual contracts. Based on requests by commenters and the addition of several questions to the request, the deadline is being extended by 30 days to August 26, 2026.
The original request for comment is organized around two sets of questions. The first concerns the extension of standard futures contracts — including energy futures — to a 24/7 schedule without any change to their fixed expiration, with material economic changes to delivery or settlement terms. The second concerns perpetual contracts when they reference physically delivered or storable energy commodities.
Following extensive conversations with industry, the Commission is posing additional questions for consideration to fully understand the issues and ensure it is doing its due diligence in evaluating them.
Comments may be submitted electronically through Regulations.gov or by the other methods detailed in the request. All comments received will be posted on Regulations.gov.

-CFTC-

Source: US Commodity Futures Trading Commission

WASHINGTON — Chairman Michael S. Selig, sponsor of the Agricultural Advisory Committee (AAC), today released the agenda for the AAC’s first meeting of 2026 taking place at 1:00 PM EST on July 29, 2026, at CFTC Headquarters, Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street, NW, Washington, DC. 
Among other topics, attendees will discuss the Basel III proposal, risk management tools for agricultural end users, 24/7 trading and emerging markets, and recent CFTC activity in the agricultural industry.
“America’s agricultural producers and agribusinesses navigate an evolving financial, technological, and regulatory landscape each day as they work to put food on our tables and clothes on our backs,” said Chairman Michael S. Selig. “I look forward to meeting with members of the CFTC’s Agricultural Advisory Committee to discuss the challenges they face and the ways the Commission can better steward our markets to the benefit of our agricultural community.”
View the full agenda here.
This meeting is open to the public and will be streamed live on CFTC.gov. Dial-in information can be found below. For highest quality, select a number nearest your current location.
+1-669-254-5252 or +1-669-216-1590 US (San Jose)+1-646-828-7666 (New York) or +1-551-285-1373 (New Jersey)+1-646-964-1167 or +1-415-449-4000 (US Spanish Line)+1-833-435-1820 or +1-833-568-8864 (US Toll Free)International NumbersWebinar ID: 165 552 9048Passcode: 291081
Members of the public may submit comments in connection with the meeting by August 7, 2026. Comments may be submitted electronically through Regulations.gov or by the other methods detailed in the meeting notice beginning on the day the notice appears in the Federal Register. All comments received will be posted on Regulations.gov. The meeting agenda may change to accommodate other AAC priorities. For agenda updates and more information about this Advisory Committee, including its members, visit AAC.
Individuals with additional questions should contact AAC Designated Federal Officer Emma Johnston. 
The views, opinions, and information expressed by the Advisory Committees are solely those of the respective Advisory Committee and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Commission, its staff, or the U.S. government.

Source: US Commodity Futures Trading Commission

WASHINGTON — The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today issued a final order sunsetting the routine position-reporting requirements of Part 20, the large trader reporting rules for physical commodity swaps. Under the order, clearing organizations, clearing members, and swap dealers will no longer be required to file the daily and event-based position reports currently required under Part 20.
“American financial market participants should not be saddled with costly and duplicative reporting requirements that do not improve the quality of our regulation,” Chairman Michael S. Selig said. “This order relieves industry of a significant and unnecessary burden while ensuring the Commission retains full access to the position information it needs to protect these markets.”
The Commission issued the order under § 20.9, a sunset provision built into Part 20 when it was first adopted in 2011 as a temporary measure. The rule predated the Commission’s broader swap data reporting framework, which has since matured through the registration of swap data repositories under Part 49, the swap data reporting requirements in Parts 43 and 45, and the position limits in Part 150.
The Commission is retaining, as a transitional measure, the recordkeeping and special-call provisions of Part 20. Reporting entities must continue to keep records of their paired swap and swaption transactions and futures-equivalent conversion methods and furnish them upon appropriately scoped special call. 
The order is effective upon publication in the Federal Register.

Source: US Commodity Futures Trading Commission

WASHINGTON — Chairman Michael S. Selig, sponsor of the Agricultural Advisory Committee (AAC), today announced that the AAC will host its first meeting of 2026 at 1:00 PM EST on July 29, 2026, at CFTC Headquarters, Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 
The Agricultural Advisory Committee was created in 1985 to advise the Commission on issues involving the trading of agricultural commodity futures and options and facilitate communications between the CFTC, the agricultural community, and agriculture-related organizations.
This meeting is open to the public and will be streamed live on CFTC.gov. Dial-in information can be found below. For highest quality, select a number nearest your current location.
+1-669-254-5252 or +1-669-216-1590 US (San Jose)+1-646-828-7666 (New York) or +1-551-285-1373 (New Jersey)+1-646-964-1167 or +1-415-449-4000 (US Spanish Line)+1-833-435-1820 or +1-833-568-8864 (US Toll Free)International NumbersWebinar ID: 165 552 9048Passcode: 291081
Individuals with additional questions should contact AAC Designated Federal Officer Emma Johnston. 
The views, opinions, and information expressed by the Advisory Committees are solely those of the respective Advisory Committee and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Commission, its staff, or the U.S. government.

Source: US Commodity Futures Trading Commission

WASHINGTON — The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today exercised its authority to stay an emergency rule change proposed by KalshiEX, LLC in response to a Michigan state court order directing the company to cancel certain previously executed trades involving Michigan residents. The CFTC also exercised its emergency authority to order KalshiEX, LLC to fulfill the open trades in accordance with its normal practices.
The Commodity Exchange Act requires the CFTC to provide a uniform national market in derivatives transactions. Market participants must have impartial access to CFTC-regulated markets and registered entities must adopt transparent access criteria that are applied in a non-discriminatory manner. The Commission is also tasked with ensuring continued public confidence in derivatives markets by guaranteeing market resilience and predictability, including in the execution and clearing of transactions. 
“A state cannot force a DCM to violate its obligations, and federal law does not permit a DCM to discriminate against a state’s residents,” said Chairman Michael S. Selig. “Canceling trades that have already been executed is an unprecedented step that risks a cascading effect on the entire marketplace and undermines the certainty in contracting that is a necessary component of a functioning market. The Commission will not allow states or state courts to bully registered entities into violating the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations.”
Although Michigan is the first state to attempt to interfere directly with executed derivatives transactions, states have attempted to bring enforcement actions against CFTC-regulated DCMs in state and federal courts throughout the nation. To protect the jurisdiction granted to it by Congress, the CFTC has filed lawsuits against Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin. The Commission has also filed amicus briefs in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth and Ninth Circuits and the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. 

Source: US Commodity Futures Trading Commission

WASHINGTON — The Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved a final rule today that amends margin requirements for uncleared swaps for swap dealers and major swap participants who are not subject to prudential regulator margin rules. The amendments enhance market efficiency, promote global harmonization, and support responsible financial innovation, while maintaining robust risk management standards.
“From the outset of my Chairmanship, I have been clear that the CFTC will pursue a rulemaking agenda that prioritizes responsible innovation,” said Chairman Michael S. Selig. “Today’s final rule related to seeded funds achieves this by unlocking liquidity for capital allocators and expanding the types of assets that qualify as eligible collateral for certain derivatives transactions, striking the right balance between streamlining regulation and upholding the market protections and robust risk management standards that make America’s commodities markets the gold standard.”
In the final rule, the Commission revised the definition of “margin affiliate” such that certain collective investment vehicles that receive start-up capital from a sponsor entity (seeded funds) will not have any margin affiliates or constitute margin affiliates of another entity when calculating thresholds that trigger the requirement to exchange initial margin for uncleared swaps. This amendment relieves swap dealers and major swap participants subject to the Commission’s uncleared swaps margin rules from posting and collecting initial margin with eligible seeded funds, as defined in the final rule, for up to three years after the asset manager begins investing on behalf of the fund.
The Commission also eliminated a provision that previously disqualified securities issued by certain pooled investment funds (money market and similar funds) from being used as eligible initial margin collateral for uncleared swaps if asset managers transferred fund assets through securities lending, securities borrowing, repurchase agreements, reverse repurchase agreements, and similar arrangements. This amendment expands the scope of assets that qualify as eligible collateral.
Finally, the Commission revised the haircut schedule for eligible margin collateral by adopting specific percentage haircuts for money market and similar funds.

Source: US Commodity Futures Trading Commission

WASHINGTON — The Commodity Futures Trading Commission will exercise its authority to stay the listing of a contract that would have allowed Chicago Mercantile Exchange to initiate 24/7 trading on crude oil futures as soon as tomorrow.
On June 22, the Commission issued a request for comment seeking public input on the propriety of extension of standard futures contracts to 24/7 trading, including crude oil. Despite an ongoing public comment period and known risks as to whether such trading on crude oil would be consistent with the Commodity Exchange Act and Commission regulations thereunder, on July 8, CME sought to self-certify such a contract. The Commission will exercise its authority under 17 C.F.R. 40.2(c) to stay this contract. 
“The CFTC is in the midst of examining whether 24/7 trading of futures contracts on various asset classes is consistent with our statutory Core Principles,” said Chairman Michael S. Selig. “As I’ve said repeatedly, we do not take a one-size-fits all approach to 24/7 trading. CME’s decision to disregard the Commission’s effort to undertake a reasoned analysis of the critical issues at stake is wholly inappropriate and necessitates Commission action to stay the certification. The Commission encourages exchanges to work with agency staff to address potential legal issues before seeking to list novel contracts.”
The CFTC’s regulations offer exchanges two methods to list contracts — self certification under 40.2 or to seek Commission review and approval under 40.3. CME made simultaneous, but separate filings under both provisions. The Commission will conduct a thorough review of the product filings under its 40.3 authorities. By staying the 40.2 filing, the Commission will bar CME from listing such contracts before the Commission has determined they comply with the CEA and Commission regulations thereunder. 

Source: US Commodity Futures Trading Commission

WASHINGTON — The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced it filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina against Trevor L. Vernon and his company Argent Capital Management LLC, a Delaware company based in Franklin, North Carolina.
According to the complaint, the defendants operated a fraudulent commodity pool that traded equity index futures contracts, options on equity index futures, and crypto assets, among other purported investments. 
The complaint alleges, from at least March 2022 through February 2026, the defendants fraudulently solicited over $14 million from at least 60 participants to invest in a commodity pool operated by ACM. 
The complaint further alleges the defendants falsely claimed Vernon was a successful trader and his commodity pool was extraordinarily profitable. In reality, his trading of participants’ funds resulted in consistent and catastrophic losses. The complaint also alleges the defendants sent participants false performance results in monthly emails and quarterly updates showing ever-increasing account balances from purported gains that did not exist.
The defendants also allegedly misappropriated pool funds, in part by using money from new participants to make payments to existing participants in a Ponzi-like scheme to hide the pool’s losses and conceal the fraud.
In addition, the complaint alleges Vernon knowingly made false statements during sworn testimony taken as part of the Commission’s investigation, and the defendants violated multiple registration provisions under the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations.
The CFTC seeks restitution, disgorgement, civil monetary penalties, trading and registration bans, and a permanent injunction against further violations of the CEA and CFTC regulations, as charged.