On 28 March 2025, the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (US CFTC) announced that US CFTC Division of Market Oversight (DMO) and US CFTC Division of Clearing and Risk (DCR) have formally withdrawn CFTC Staff Advisory No. 18-14, titled Advisory with Respect to Virtual Currency Derivative Product Listings. The withdrawal, effective immediately, was set out in CFTC Letter No. 25-07, issued on 27 March 2025, titled ‘Withdrawal of CFTC Staff Advisory No. 18-14 with Respect to Virtual Currency Derivative Product Listings’ which states that the Advisory with Respect to Virtual Currency Derivative Product Listings is no longer necessary given the evolution of the virtual currency derivatives market and Crypto Taskforce developments.
The 2018 Advisory was originally issued on 21 May 2018 to clarify the DMO and DCR’s expectations in their review of new virtual currency derivatives proposed for listing by Designated Contract Markets (DCMs), Swap Execution Facilities (SEFs), or for clearing by Derivatives Clearing Organizations (DCOs). As stated in the withdrawal, the regulatory divisions now consider that the marketplace has experienced considerable growth and maturity, thereby obviating the need for the continued application of the Advisory. According to the letter, “Given additional staff experience in the intervening years, as well as increasing market growth and maturity, DMO and DCR believe the Virtual Currency Listing Advisory is no longer needed.” Supporting this conclusion, the staff noted that average daily volumes across all Bitcoin futures have increased by over 300 percent, and aggregate open interest has surged by more than 800 percent since 2018.
Despite the withdrawal of Advisory No. 18-14, the letter made it clear that all relevant requirements under the United States Commodity Exchange Act and US CFTC regulations remain fully in effect. These include obligations on DCMs, SEFs, and DCOs to uphold strong market oversight standards, ensure contracts are not susceptible to manipulation, and detect and prevent any market distortions or settlement disruptions. Firms must continue to comply with the US CFTC’s Large Trader Reporting System, which mandates daily reporting for positions exceeding defined thresholds under Commission Regulation 15.03(b).
It was further clarified that this withdrawal represents the views of the DMO and DCR staff only, and not necessarily those of the full Commission or other CFTC offices. The US CFTC encouraged ongoing open communication between regulated exchanges, clearinghouses, and staff in the context of launching new virtual currency derivatives. For further inquiries, market participants are advised to contact Sebastian Pujol, Counsel to the Director of DMO, or Eileen A. Donovan, Deputy Director of DCR, as listed in the official correspondence. The full text of CFTC Letter No. 25-07 is available on the Commission’s website at www.cftc.gov.
(Source: https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/9059-25)
