U.S. CFTC Chair: “Hope to provide a federal registration option for exchanges like Binance”

CFTC Chair Michael Selig, speaking to CNBC in response to the Binance hack, said the Commodity Futures Trading Commission aims to establish a federal-level voluntary registration framework for cryptocurrency exchanges. According to a Reuters report citing the interview, Selig emphasized that federal registration is currently not mandatory but rather an optional path available to exchanges; making registration compulsory for all crypto exchanges would require congressional legislation. However, he clarified that retail crypto transactions involving margin, leverage, or financing already fall under federal regulatory oversight. To that end, the CFTC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on retail crypto trading rules on October 5, with the public comment period closing on December 14.