Daily Crypto Briefs 
WASHINGTON, September 24, 2026
U.S. futures firms can invest customer funds in tokenized versions of already-permitted assets under existing safeguards, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Thursday, a step that also opens the door to blockchain-based regulatory records.
The September 24 CFTC update adds four questions to staff guidance for futures commission merchants, clearing organizations and other regulated firms. Its most consequential answer concerns customer money held in segregated accounts: a digital token representing an eligible investment can qualify, but putting an asset on a blockchain does not make an otherwise ineligible investment permissible.
The announcement came amid a volatile broader crypto market, though the agency did not tie its guidance to prices. CoinGecko’s Bitcoin history listed a September 23 close of about $84,382, September 24 market capitalization near $1.70 trillion and trading volume of about $43.7 billion. Those figures are context for the sector, not evidence that the FAQ moved Bitcoin.
In the revised FAQ, the agency answers “Yes” to whether a futures commission merchant, or FCM, or derivatives clearing organization can invest customer funds in tokenized forms of otherwise permitted investments. The answer immediately conditions that permission on the underlying asset’s eligibility, equivalent legal and economic rights, compliance with investment limits and acceptable custody.
That is a narrower development than a blanket approval of crypto as a place to park customer money. The earlier CFTC guidance on Bitcoin and ether margin collateral addressed assets customers may post to support their own positions. Thursday’s new answer concerns how firms may invest segregated customer funds while those positions remain open.
Bitcoin
BTCCFTC Sets Four Tests for Tokenized Customer Funds
Question 12 of the FAQ says the underlying instrument must already be a permitted investment under Regulation 1.25. The token must provide legal and economic rights the same as, or functionally equivalent to, those of the conventional asset. The investment must also meet the rule’s liquidity, concentration, time-to-maturity and product-feature restrictions, and it must be held with an acceptable depository.
That framework may apply to a qualifying tokenized government security or government money market fund, but the label alone is insufficient. The CFTC specifically expects a written acknowledgment from the custodian for eligible tokenized government money market fund shares. Such letters help establish that the assets are customer property held under the regulatory safeguards.
The distinction is important after a series of tokenized Treasury and securities initiatives. A token’s transfer speed does not replace proof of ownership, liquidity or lawful custody. CFTC staff did not identify a tokenized fund or issuer that has met the tests, disclose how much customer money is already invested this way, or change the permitted-investment list.
Payment stablecoins illustrate the limit. The same revised FAQ retains its prior answer that FCMs may not invest customer funds in payment stablecoins because they are not permitted investments under Regulation 1.25. Separate relief lets an FCM place its own qualifying payment stablecoins in a segregated customer account as residual interest, subject to conditions; that is the firm’s capital, not an investment of customer cash.
Blockchain Records Can Stand Without Offchain Copies
The three other new questions address books and records. CFTC staff says Regulation 1.31 is technology neutral and that firms can create and maintain records on a blockchain if they satisfy the rule’s requirements for authenticity, reliability, retention and production. Similar reasoning applies to swap-data records under Regulation 45.2 for exchanges, clearinghouses, swap dealers and other covered parties.
Staff also says it would not object solely because a covered firm chooses not to keep an offchain duplicate. That does not mean a public block explorer is an adequate disaster plan. For records on a permissionless network, the firm should be able to retain and produce them for CFTC inspection even if the network or its block explorer goes down.
The wording leaves room for both public and private ledgers, but shifts the operational question to whether a firm can retrieve a complete, trustworthy regulatory record during an outage. A cryptographic entry that cannot be produced to an examiner would not meet the standard described by the FAQ.
The move extends the agency’s March FAQ and December 2025 tokenized-collateral letter without announcing a fresh rulemaking. CFTC Chairman Michael Selig said the update was consistent with the agency’s work to provide more clarity for the crypto industry. The SEC has separately opened a limited route for tokenized U.S. stock trading, but that securities-market action has different participants and conditions.
What Firms and Customers Still Need to Know
The revised text does not say which blockchain, custodian or tokenized investment a particular FCM will use, or when any firm will begin investing customer funds in one. Firms seeking to rely on it still have to demonstrate that the underlying asset and tokenized form satisfy the existing protections; customers cannot infer that a tokenized investment is risk-free or instantly redeemable.
It also does not reverse the stablecoin restriction or turn Bitcoin held as margin into an authorized investment of customer funds. Those are distinct regulatory categories, and the FAQ keeps them separate even as it gives firms more flexibility in how eligible assets and records are represented.
The Crypto Fear and Greed Index stood at 71, labeled “Greed,” on September 24. That sentiment reading offers a market snapshot; the next practical test for the CFTC guidance is whether regulated firms identify qualifying tokenized products and record systems that can satisfy custody and inspection requirements.
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Primary sources and further reading
| Source | Title |
|---|---|
| | CFTC: September 24 crypto and blockchain FAQ update |
| | CFTC: Revised crypto asset FAQ, questions 12-15 |
| | CoinGecko: Bitcoin historical market data |
| | Alternative.me: Crypto Fear and Greed Index |
Fact-checked by: Daily Crypto Briefs Fact-Check Desk
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can futures firms invest customer funds in tokenized Treasuries?
The CFTC says an FCM or clearing organization may invest customer funds in tokenized versions of assets already permitted by Regulation 1.25, provided the token grants equivalent rights and meets the rule's liquidity, concentration, maturity and custody requirements. The guidance does not approve every tokenized Treasury product.
Did the CFTC approve stablecoins as an investment for customer funds?
No. The revised FAQ preserves the earlier answer that payment stablecoins are not on Regulation 1.25's list of permitted customer-fund investments. An FCM may place its own qualifying payment stablecoins in segregated accounts as residual interest under separate conditions.
Can regulated firms keep records only on a blockchain?
CFTC staff says it would not object solely because a qualifying firm does not maintain an offchain copy. The firm must still meet applicable recordkeeping standards and be able to retain and produce records for inspection even if a public network or block explorer is unavailable.
Is this a new CFTC rule or a live tokenized fund launch?
No. The September 24 action updates staff FAQs explaining how existing rules apply. The CFTC did not announce a new investment product, a named firm's deployment or a change to the list of permitted investments.