CFTC Chair Directs Staff to Amend Rules for Cleared Repo Transactions

CFTC Chair Michael S. Selig directed staff to amend rules allowing futures commission merchants to use customer funds in cleared repo transactions ahead of the June 2027 Treasury clearing deadline in remarks at the 2026 U.S. Treasury Market Conference hosted by the New York Fed.

Mr. Selig said the CFTC must regulate markets as they function today, noting global derivatives notional has nearly doubled to $1.2 quadrillion over the past two decades.

He said the agency is restructuring oversight of the Treasury market to reflect derivatives' growing role in liquidity, financing, and price discovery. He noted that (i) the CFTC and SEC recently approved exemptive orders letting CME and FICC expand customer cross-margining of Treasury securities and futures (see prior coverage), with more clearing agencies expected to seek similar approval; and (ii) the agencies issued a joint request for comment on harmonizing portfolio-margining frameworks to cut duplicative margin requirements.

Mr. Selig said tokenization of real-world assets and stablecoins are central to the CFTC's approach, pointing to (i) expanded eligible tokenized collateral now including payment stablecoins issued by national trust banks (see prior coverage), and (ii) new FAQs on the use of tokenized collateral following enactment of the GENIUS Act (see prior coverage). 

On trading hours, he said the Commission will not take a "one-size-fits-all approach" to 24/7 trading: crypto and precious metals may suit continuous trading, but agricultural, energy, and some financial products may not be ready. He cited the agency's request for comment on extending standard futures and perpetual contracts to continuous trading (see prior coverage) and a staff advisory on extending trading, clearing and settlement to 24/7 operations (see prior coverage).