The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), a US financial regulator, announced on Thursday that offshore crypto exchanges now have a pathway to legally serve US-based clients by registering under the Foreign Board of Trade (FBOT) framework.
US-based clients have had the right to trade on registered offshore platforms since the 1990s under the FBOT registry, and the framework works for all asset classes, acting CFTC Director Caroline Pham said in a statement. Pham said:
“Starting now, the CFTC welcomes back Americans who want to trade efficiently and safely under CFTC regulations, and opens up US markets to the rest of the world. It’s just another example of how the CFTC will continue to deliver wins for President Trump as part of our crypto sprint.”
Allowing offshore exchanges to serve US residents can potentially increase liquidity in the crypto markets and remove the silos that have kept crypto trapped within regions.
Binance, the world’s largest exchange by trading volume, is currently inaccessible to US residents. Instead, it operates in the country through a separate entity, Binance.US, which is not available in all states. This keeps US residents in a walled garden of crypto companies eligible to do business in the United States.
Related: CFTC seeks to allow spot crypto trading on registered exchanges
CFTC follows through on the Trump administration’s crypto sprint
The CFTC has been overhauling its crypto policies as part of the “crypto sprint,” an initiative to pass comprehensive crypto regulations in the US.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants to bring crypto companies back to the country to establish leadership in digital assets.
The lack of clear regulations caused an exodus of crypto companies from the US between 2021 and 2024, and led to a majority of crypto trading volume occurring on offshore exchanges.
Edwin Mata, an attorney and CEO of tokenization platform Brickken, told Cointelegraph that ambiguous regulations have fragmented the policy landscape in the US.
The attorney told Cointelegraph that clear rules of the road would reduce the legal burden on crypto companies, allowing them to do business in the US without fear of legal reprisal and regulation by enforcement.
The CFTC is accepting public feedback for its crypto policies to craft regulations that will protect financial market participants without creating an undue burden that drives innovative projects offshore.
Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered
