The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is ushering in a new form of federally regulated cryptocurrency trading, after encouraging its regulated platforms to open leveraged spot digital asset products, set to begin next week with Bitnomial.
The Bitnomial exchange is regulated by the U.S. derivatives watchdog as a Designated Contracts Market (DCM), meaning this new business will launch in a fully regulated space, following strong encouragement from the federal agency – including direct meetings with Acting President Caroline Pham to facilitate the process when the federal government was shut down for an extended period.
“Recent events on offshore exchanges have shown us how critical it is that Americans have more choices and access to safe, regulated U.S. markets,” Pham said in a statement. “Now, for the first time ever, spot cryptocurrencies can be traded on CFTC-registered exchanges that have set the standard for nearly a hundred years, with the customer protections and market integrity that Americans deserve.”
The move, which Pham called a “historic milestone,” follows recommendations from the President’s Task Force on Digital Asset Markets, which released a report this year setting out a crypto agenda for U.S. regulators. Pham said the CFTC is “finally using our decades-long authority” to initiate these exchanges.
Chicago-based Bitnomial has set the launch for December 8. It is one of several DCMs regulated by the CFTC, also including Coinbase, Kalshi, and Polymarket.
“Leveraged spot cryptocurrency trading is now available under the same regulatory framework as US perpetuals, futures and options,” said Luke Hoersten, founder and CEO of Bitnomial.
This was one of the first agenda items in the CFTC’s “crypto sprint” aimed at implementing the administration’s pro-crypto policy goals. That was among Pham’s priorities as she awaited her permanent replacement as president, which could come soon as the Senate moves through the confirmation process of Trump’s nominee, Mike Selig.
Pham plans to leave the agency when the new president arrives, leaving that person alone in what is supposed to be a five-member commission. The White House has not yet proposed other candidates to fill the leadership, so the next president will take charge of the rise of crypto policy alone.
Other initiatives include a push for tokenized collateral that will include stablecoins, which is expected to happen early next year, and a general regulation that inserts blockchain technology into a range of CFTC regulations.
UPDATE (December 4, 2025, 3:55 p.m. UTC): Adds a comment from Bitnomial.
