Bitnomial, Inc., a U.S. derivatives exchange company, announces the upcoming launch of the first-ever leveraged retail spot crypto exchange operating under CFTC regulation through its Designated Contract Market (DCM), Bitnomial Exchange, LLC, and Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO), Bitnomial Clearinghouse, LLC. Both retail and institutional traders benefit from net settlement, portfolio margining across spot, perpetuals, futures, and options all on one exchange, eliminating redundant margin requirements. Institutions and brokers benefit from finally having access to a CFTC regulated spot exchange rather than state money transmitter oversight, resolving longstanding compliance incompatibilities.

This launch is made possible by the pioneering work of CFTC Acting Chairman Caroline Pham. Her pro-innovation leadership has opened new pathways for compliant retail crypto trading in the United States by recognizing that retail commodity transactions can be offered on a DCM and cleared by a DCO. Spot trading offered on a DCM means all orders, retail and institutional, receive equal and fair treatment with no preferential routing, no information advantage, and equal access to liquidity.

“Leveraged spot crypto trading is now available under the same regulatory framework as U.S. perpetuals, futures, and options,” said Luke Hoersten, Founder and CEO of Bitnomial. “Broker intermediation and Clearinghouse net settlement eliminate counterparty risks while providing the capital efficiency traders need. We’re bringing leveraged spot crypto trading back to the U.S. with CFTC oversight. We’re grateful to Chairman Pham for her pro-business approach to allow regulated entities to utilize the full scope of statutory capabilities afforded under U.S. law.”

The convergence of spot, perpetuals, futures, and options on a single exchange with unified portfolio margining transforms capital efficiency. Rather than maintaining separate, fully-collateralized positions across multiple venues, traders offset risk across all product types on one platform.

The launch, scheduled for the week of December 8th, 2025, represents a watershed moment for U.S. crypto markets. As the first platform to bring leveraged spot crypto trading under full CFTC regulation through the DCM and DCO framework, Bitnomial is establishing a new standard for how digital asset markets operate in the United States. By combining the capital efficiency of net settlement and portfolio margining with the protections of U.S. derivatives market infrastructure, the platform delivers safe and regulated access to leverage for both retail and institutional traders.

Source: Bitnomial

Acting Chairman Pham Announces First-Ever Listed Spot Crypto Trading on U.S. Regulated Exchanges

Commodity Futures Trading Commission Acting Chairman Caroline D. Pham announced that listed spot cryptocurrency products will begin trading for the first time in U.S. federally regulated markets on CFTC registered futures exchanges. The announcement marks a significant step forward in the Trump Administration’s pledge to usher in a Golden Age of Innovation and make America the “crypto capital of the world.”

“The CFTC has a rich history of welcoming responsible innovation on futures exchanges by balancing regulatory flexibility with core principles that safeguard both institutional and retail traders. Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, this Administration has developed a comprehensive all-of-government plan for America to reclaim its place as the world leader in digital asset markets, and the CFTC has a central role to play,” Acting Chairman Pham said. “Recent events on offshore exchanges have shown us how essential it is for Americans to have more choice and access to safe, regulated U.S. markets. Now, for the first time ever, spot crypto can trade on CFTC-registered exchanges that have been the gold standard for nearly a hundred years, with the customer protections and market integrity that Americans deserve.

“Fifteen years ago, Congress passed important reforms to strengthen U.S. markets after the great financial crisis, including the requirement that leveraged retail commodity trading can only occur on futures exchanges. But the CFTC never implemented this critical customer protection reform by providing regulatory clarity on how to list these retail exchange traded products despite years of market demand. Instead, the CFTC chose regulation by enforcement rather than making clear rules of the road, resulting in huge fines that targeted the crypto industry but did not protect the retail public by giving them a safe place to trade.

“Under my leadership this year, the CFTC is finally using our decades-long existing authority to work smarter and faster to protect Americans who deserve safe U.S. markets now, not offshore exchanges that lack basic safeguards against uncontrolled customer losses. This historic milestone implements recommendations from the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets with months of public engagement and the expert input of stakeholders, CFTC staff and other regulators.”

This announcement follows recommendations by the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets and stakeholder insights from the CFTC’s Crypto Sprint and cooperative engagement with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Crypto Sprint also launched public consultations on all other recommendations from the President’s Working Group report relevant to the CFTC. Other components to the Crypto Sprint include enabling tokenized collateral, including stablecoins, in derivatives markets and a rulemaking to make technical amendments to the CFTC’s regulations for collateral, margin, clearing, settlement, reporting, and recordkeeping to enable the use of blockchain technology and market infrastructure including tokenization in our markets.

Source: CFTC