CFTC expands passive software relief to crypto wallets — SkimNews
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- CFTC's Market Participants Division issued the no-action position Thursday, saying it won't recommend enforcement against qualifying "passive software" providers or their personnel for failing to register as introducing brokers when connecting users to CFTC-registered derivatives firms and exchanges.
- Qualifying providers — including crypto wallets and apps — must meet conditions limiting their role, including restrictions on exercising discretion over users' orders, with the relief covering access to regulated derivatives such as perpetual contracts and prediction markets.
- The action extends a March no-action letter granted to Phantom Technologies for its self-custodial crypto wallet, following a July petition from Phantom and the Hyperliquid Policy Center asking the CFTC to shield non-custodial wallet providers from introducing-broker requirements.
- The expansion came two days after the CLARITY Act failed to advance in the Senate, where a cloture motion received 49 votes — short of the 60 needed — to proceed to debate.
- CFTC Chair Michael Selig said the agency is "locked in and ready to ship" crypto rules, while SEC Chair Paul Atkins said the SEC would act "with or without legislation"; on Thursday, the SEC approved a temporary exemption allowing qualifying platforms to facilitate limited onchain trading of tokenized US stocks via permissioned automated market makers.
Why it matters: For non-custodial wallet developers like Phantom — who petitioned for this exact protection — and for apps embedding derivatives access, the CFTC just removed the introducing-broker registration hurdle. Coming two days after the CLARITY Act's Senate collapse, the move shows the CFTC and SEC are advancing crypto rules under existing authority, not waiting on Congress.
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