Headline: SEC and CFTC move toward formal collaboration on crypto oversight — joint meetings, exams and a “harmonization” portal planned
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) — the two agencies that will jointly shape most U.S. crypto regulation — are preparing a formal memorandum of understanding to coordinate how they regulate digital-asset markets, SEC Chair Paul Atkins announced.
Speaking at the FIA Global Cleared Markets Conference in Florida, Atkins described the effort as a shift toward “a new golden age of regulatory coherence.” He said the memorandum will do more than align rules: it will coordinate how both agencies interact with market participants, including handling interpretive questions and exemptive relief requests.
Key elements Atkins outlined:
- Joint meetings: SEC staff will begin holding coordinated meetings with CFTC employees to review product applications and other matters touching both agencies’ jurisdiction.
- Harmonization website: A new portal will let firms request coordinated discussions with both regulators, preventing them from being bounced back and forth when products implicate securities and commodities rules.
- Coordinated exams and enforcement: The MOU will formalize shared exam planning and supervisory findings for dually regulated entities, with confidentiality protections, to reduce duplicate exams and streamline oversight.
Atkins framed the change as practical and pro-market: “Firms should not be shuffled back and forth between regulators when a product touches elements of both regulatory frameworks,” he said. “Nor should clarity depend on which agency happens to speak first.” He added that coordinated exam planning and shared supervisory findings “should become standard practice.”
The announcement comes against a backdrop of long-standing friction between the SEC (which regulates securities and exchanges) and the CFTC (which oversees derivatives and commodities). Until now, no formal rules have determined whether specific crypto products fall under securities or commodities regimes, sparking years of legal disputes and enforcement actions. Since the arrival of leaders appointed by President Donald Trump, both agencies have made pro-crypto policy clarity a high priority and are working on definitions for how digital assets will be classified.
Atkins also reiterated plans to create regulatory pathways for integrated platforms or “super-apps” that offer services spanning both agencies’ jurisdictions. “In the technology world, a super-app integrates multiple services into a single seamless interface,” he said. “The user does not toggle between separate systems to complete related tasks. Instead, integration occurs invisibly behind the scenes.”
The memorandum — if finalized — would mark a notable step toward a more coordinated federal approach to crypto oversight, promising firms clearer, faster interactions with regulators as the industry faces deeper federal scrutiny.
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