On 07 February 2025, the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (US CFTC) announced to hold a CEO Forum of industry-leading firms to discuss the launch of US CFTC’S Digital Asset Markets Pilot, which will focus on integrating tokenized non-cash collateral, such as stablecoins, into the regulated financial ecosystem. The initiative will bring together industry leaders, including Circle, Coinbase, Crypto.com, MoonPay, and Ripple, to discuss the framework and implementation of the US CFTC’s digital asset markets pilot program. Further details regarding the CEO Forum will be provided as they are finalised.
The pilot program is designed to act as a US regulatory sandbox, allowing digital asset markets to operate within a structured framework while ensuring compliance with existing financial regulations. Acting Chairman Pham had previously proposed such a US CFTC pilot program to provide regulatory clarity and establish guardrails for digital asset markets. The US CFTC has historically implemented similar pilot programs successfully, dating back to the 1990s.
The initiative builds on prior recommendations made by the US CFTC’s Global Markets Advisory Committee (GMAC), which is sponsored by Acting Chairman Pham. In 2024, the Digital Asset Markets Subcommittee of the GMAC put forward a recommendation advocating for the expansion of non-cash collateral usage through distributed ledger technology.
The CEO Forum and pilot program implementation will be detailed in subsequent announcements from the US CFTC. Market participants, including major cryptocurrency firms, will play their role in shaping the regulatory framework.
The US CFTC’s digital asset markets pilot program will provide a sandbox environment for exploring stablecoins and other tokenized assets in regulated markets. Further developments will be closely monitored as the CEO Forum progresses.
Acting Chairman Caroline D. Pham stated, “I’m excited to announce this groundbreaking initiative for U.S. digital asset markets. The CFTC is committed to responsible innovation. I look forward to engaging with market participants to deliver on the Trump Administration’s promise of ensuring that America leads the way on economic opportunity.”
(Source: https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/9049-25)
