Industry leaders Phantom and Hyperliquid have formally requested that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) update its stance on onchain derivatives. The entities are advocating for a regulatory environment that recognizes the unique technical nature of decentralized protocols.
The core of the petition centers on the exemption of non-custodial wallet providers and protocol developers from legacy compliance requirements. Currently, these companies face the threat of being classified as traditional financial intermediaries, a framework ill-suited for blockchain architecture.
Key objectives of the request include:
- Establishing clear boundaries between software development and financial service operations.
- Reducing compliance friction for decentralized derivatives platforms.
- Protecting non-custodial wallet infrastructure from overreach.
By modernizing these rules, the petitioners argue that regulators can foster innovation while maintaining market integrity. The outcome of this discussion could set a significant precedent for how DeFi infrastructure is treated by U.S. oversight bodies moving forward.
