Policy Event Β· High impact

CFTC Extends Phantom No-Action Relief To Passive Software Providers

The CFTC Market Participants Division issued Staff Letter 26-25, extending the Phantom no-action position to similarly situated passive software providers that connect users to derivatives markets without acting as brokers. The relief lowers registration pressure for wallets and front ends, but active routing, custody, fee-sharing and solicitation remain compliance triggers.

High impactπŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ United StatesRegulationLicensingDeFiExchangeCFTCPhantom

APAC FINSTAB analysis

Although this is outside core APAC, it is relevant because global market-structure, enforcement, and stablecoin precedents often shape licensing expectations for APAC exchanges, issuers, custodians, and DeFi teams. Named institutions or platforms: CFTC, Phantom. Teams should monitor the original source, map the change to licensing, custody, disclosure, and market-access obligations, and update their jurisdiction playbooks before the next compliance review.

Compliance read-through: map this event to entity licensing, market-access, custody, disclosure, token listing, and operational-risk obligations before expanding or marketing in the affected jurisdiction.

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Related policy events

CPC Decision Targets Crypto-Enabled Corruption And Cross-Border Asset Recovery

A CPC Central Committee decision published by Xinhua calls for resolute action against corruption involving the internet, virtual currencies, cross-border funds, and blockchain, alongside stronger cross-border casework and asset recovery. The policy signal increases expectations for transaction tracing, beneficial-owner checks, and cooperation with enforcement requests at digital-asset intermediaries.

High impactπŸ‡¨πŸ‡³ ChinaRegulationAMLEnforcement