CFTC says onchain records can satisfy recordkeeping rules, with conditions for public blockchains

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission told firms it oversees they may keep required records on a blockchain, with a key split between private and public networks.

The updated frequently asked questions, issued Thursday by the CFTC’s Market Participants Division, Division of Market Oversight and Division of Clearing and Risk, state that staff would not object if a records entity used blockchain or distributed ledger technologies to create and maintain onchain records and satisfy its recordkeeping obligations. The guidance covers any CFTC regulations involving recordkeeping and maintenance of regulatory data, per the CFTC’s announcement.

The treatment differs by network type. A firm running on a private network may not need to maintain offchain versions of its records at all, the guidance says. Firms using public, permissionless blockchains face a heavier condition: they should establish systems and controls that enable them to retain and produce records under any circumstances, including an emergency or other disruption to the network.

The update also touches tokenization, telling CFTC-overseen platforms that customer funds may be invested in tokenized forms of otherwise-permissible assets, provided the tokenized form grants the holder legal and economic rights that are the same or functionally equivalent to those held in the asset’s traditional form.

The FAQs were originally published in March, building on Staff Letter 25-39 on tokenized collateral and Staff Letter 26-05, which set a no-action position for certain digital assets used as margin collateral. The agency has increasingly focused on tokenized collateral as a way to modernize derivatives markets and improve collateral management and capital efficiency.

CFTC Chairman Mike Selig said in a statement: “I’m pleased to see staff update these frequently asked questions consistent with the agency’s ongoing efforts to provide regulatory clarity for the crypto industry.”

The guidance is staff FAQ material rather than a formal rule, and staff may revise or withdraw it. It also remains separate from the CFTC’s pending crypto market regulation plan, which is under White House review.