CFTC Lets Futures Brokers Invest Customer Funds in Tokenized Assets, Keep Records on a Blockchain

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission updated its crypto guidance on September 24, clearing two paths for the futures industry. Registered firms can now put customer money into tokenized versions of assets they were already allowed to hold. They can also keep required records on a blockchain.

What the CFTC Actually Announced

Three CFTC divisions issued the update together: the registrant-oversight division, the exchange-oversight division, and the Division of Clearing and Risk. The agency's own release frames it as new answers within an existing FAQ document, not a new rule.

CFTC.gov published this press release on September 24, 2026, announcing the FAQ update.

Chairman Michael S. Selig said he was "pleased to see staff update these frequently asked questions consistent with the agency's ongoing efforts to provide regulatory clarity for the crypto industry." That is the only official quote attached to the release.

Two Narrow Additions, Not a New Asset Class

The FAQs were first published back in March 2026. Thursday's update adds four new questions, one covering permitted investments and three covering recordkeeping, according to CFTC staff guidance referenced in the release.

The core idea is narrow. Tokenizing an asset does not create a new category of eligible collateral. A firm can only hold a tokenized version of something it could already hold in its traditional form under Commission Regulation 1.25.

That builds on earlier staff letters. CFTC Staff Letter 25-39 addressed tokenized collateral guidance, and Staff Letter 26-05 covered a no-action position on digital assets accepted as margin. The September FAQ update ties those two threads together with formal recordkeeping language.

Recordkeeping Gets a Blockchain Option

The second half of the update addresses Commission Regulation 1.31, which sets out how registrants must retain required records. Firms can now use distributed ledger systems to meet that obligation, provided the underlying requirements are still met.

The CFTC was explicit that a blockchain record is not automatically compliant just because it sits on a chain. The technology has to satisfy the same retention, accessibility and accuracy standards regulators already expect from any other recordkeeping system.

The distinction matters for futures commission merchants and derivatives clearing organizations, the two registrant types the FAQ update names directly. Both handle customer funds and carry recordkeeping duties under existing CFTC rules.

Why This Is Staff Guidance, Not a Rule

FAQs issued by CFTC staff are not the same as a Commission rulemaking. They explain how the agency's existing regulations apply to a new situation, in this case tokenized assets and blockchain-based records.

That gives firms a clearer read on where they stand without the CFTC needing to write and vote on a formal new regulation. It also means the guidance can be revised again quickly if the agency's thinking shifts.

The full text runs through several detailed questions and answers rather than a short summary. Firms weighing tokenized collateral or blockchain recordkeeping would need to read the underlying FAQ document itself, not just the announcement, before acting on it.

The Bigger Regulatory Picture

This is the latest in a string of 2026 moves from the CFTC toward tokenized finance. The agency previously ran a Digital Assets Pilot Program for tokenized collateral in derivatives markets and reissued stablecoin-related guidance earlier this year.

Taken together, the moves point to a regulator trying to give the derivatives industry usable answers on crypto before Congress finishes broader market-structure legislation. None of this changes what assets are eligible to begin with, only how firms can hold and record them.