The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has given more details on its expectations for the use of crypto as collateral amid a pilot program that the agency launched last year.
In a notice on Friday, the CFTC’s Market Participants Division and Division of Clearing and Risk responded to frequently asked questions that emerged from two staff letters issued in December that established a pilot allowing crypto to be used as collateral in derivatives markets.
The notice reminded futures commission merchants wanting to take part in the pilot that they must file a notice with the Market Participants Division “which includes the date on which it will commence accepting crypto assets from customers as margin collateral.”
The crypto industry has argued that crypto technology is best suited for 24-7 trading and instant settlement, and the CFTC’s guidance in December clarified what tokenized assets can be used as collateral, along with how to value them and calculate how much is needed for a trading position.
CFTC aligns guidance with SEC
The CFTC made clear its guidance was to align with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as the two agencies work together on a regulatory framework for crypto.
The CFTC said that capital charges, the amount that must be held to cover losses, would be “consistent with the SEC” and that futures commission merchants should apply a 20% capital charge for positions in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), while stablecoins should get a 2% charge.
The notice added that futures commission merchants taking part in the pilot can only accept Bitcoin, Ether, or stablecoins for the first three months and must give prompt notice of any significant cybersecurity or system issues. They must also file weekly reports of the total crypto held across customer account types.
After the three-month period, other cryptocurrencies can be accepted as collateral and the reporting requirements will end.
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The notice also clarified that “only proprietary payment stablecoins may be deposited as residual interest in customer segregated accounts” and that futures commission merchants can’t accept other cryptocurrencies for that purpose.
The CFTC said that crypto and stablecoins cannot be used for collateral of uncleared swaps, but swap dealers can use tokenized versions of an eligible asset if it meets regulatory requirements and grants the holder the same rights in its traditional form.
Meanwhile, derivatives clearing organizations can accept crypto and stablecoins as initial margin for cleared transactions if they meet CFTC requirements regarding minimal credit, market, and liquidity risks.
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