CFTC Opens Crypto Rulemaking: Comment by December 14

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has published an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking covering crypto asset transactions and crypto asset markets. It is a formal request for public input, and the window to respond is open until December 14, 2026.

What an advanced notice actually is

This is the earliest formal step in US rulemaking, and it is often misunderstood. The agency is not proposing finished rules you can accept or reject. It is signalling an intent to write rules and asking the public what those rules should contain.

The notice concerns section 2(c)(2)(D) of the Commodity Exchange Act, and the stated purpose is to develop “fit-for-purpose rules” for transactions and markets in crypto assets. The document is filed under 17 CFR Parts 1, 38 and 39, with RIN 3038-AF80.

Why this is a bigger deal than a comment request usually is

For years, the practical regulatory story in US crypto was enforcement rather than rulemaking — cases brought after the fact. The notice itself acknowledges that history, framing prior “regulation by enforcement” as having driven activity outside the federal framework. Whatever your view of that claim, the shift in method is the story: the agency is now writing rules in advance instead of litigating after.

The document also traces the timeline explicitly, from the Commission’s early approach to crypto markets through the 2025 working group on digital asset markets and into 2026.

Where this sits alongside the rest of US crypto policy

The rulemaking is happening in a crowded policy moment. The CLARITY Act, which would have set a comprehensive market-structure framework, failed to advance in the Senate. With legislation stalled, agency rulemaking becomes the main channel for changing how crypto markets are regulated in the US.

That has a practical consequence for readers: agency rules are easier to change than statutes. A framework built through rulemaking can be reshaped by a future Commission in a way a law cannot.

How to participate

Read the notice in full on the Federal Register before writing. Comments that engage with specific questions in the document carry more weight than general statements.
Reference the docket precisely: “Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions and Regulation Crypto Asset Markets,” RIN 3038-AF80.
Submit before December 14, 2026. Late comments are generally not considered.
Remember that comments are public. Do not include personal financial details or account information.

Market context, with the usual caveat

Crypto assets are volatile and can lose most of their value. Regulatory clarity is not a price guarantee — it changes the legal environment, not the investment case. Bitcoin traded around the $81,000 level on October 17, down modestly on the day, and US crypto ETF flows have been negative through October. None of this is a forecast, and nothing here is investment advice.

For more on this month’s regulatory and market moves, see our coverage of USDC’s new EU classification and October’s crypto bounce alongside ETF outflows.