Phantom, a developer of self-custodial crypto wallets particularly popular in the Solana ecosystem, has obtained a no-action letter from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), allowing it to offer users access to certain regulated derivatives markets without registering as a broker.
In a statement Tuesday, the CFTC’s Market Participants Division said it would not recommend enforcement action against Phantom for failure to register as an introducing broker, provided the firm meets a set of conditions. The relief applies to Phantom’s software acting as a non-custodial interface that directly connects users to entities registered with the CFTC, such as futures commission merchants and designated contract marketplaces.
Phantom said in a blog post that the letter allows it to integrate access to regulated derivatives and event-driven contracts directly into its app through registered partners, while ensuring users submit orders directly to exchanges. The company stressed that it does not hold customer funds or intermediary transactions.
Phantom described the result as “the first of its kind” for this model and the result of proactive engagement with regulators. “Rather than building first and asking for forgiveness later, we took a different approach,” the team wrote in the blog, adding that the initial dialogue with the CFTC helped clarify how non-custodial interfaces can operate within existing rules.
“A critical part of making crypto safe and easy to use is creating financial products governed by clear, common-sense regulations. Where warranted, engaging regulators early on to find compliance pathways for these new products produces better outcomes for our users, for the industry, and for the regulators themselves. This letter is proof of that,” Phantom CEO Brandon Millman said in a blog post.
“We are grateful to the CFTC for working with us on a truly novel issue, and we look forward to bringing more innovative products to consumers in a way that gives them confidence and sets a precedent,” he added.
Read: Prediction Markets comes to Phantom’s 20 million users via Kalshi
UPDATE (March 17, 2026, 3:36 p.m. UTC): Adjust the title.
