The Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced Thursday that it would not pursue enforcement actions against providers of passive trading software who connect users to regulated derivatives firms and exchanges, provided they meet specific conditions.

The agency’s Market Participants Division issued a no-action letter stating that qualifying providers and their personnel would not be required to register as introducing brokers or associated persons when facilitating trades through CFTC-registered entities. The relief applies to services that merely enable access to regulated markets without exercising discretion over users’ orders.

To qualify, providers must limit their involvement to technical functions such as routing orders or displaying market data. They are prohibited from influencing trade execution, setting prices, or managing user funds beyond basic operational necessities. The position builds on a prior no-action determination granted to Phantom Technologies in March for its self-custodial crypto wallet software, which similarly enabled connections to regulated futures brokers under defined constraints.

Industry groups including the Hyperliquid Policy Center had previously petitioned the CFTC in July to clarify how existing rules apply to blockchain developers and non-custodial wallet providers interfacing with regulated derivatives platforms. Their request emphasized that software facilitating onchain trading should not automatically trigger introducing broker obligations when core functions remain passive.

The regulatory move follows the Senate’s failure to advance the CLARITY Act, a proposed bill that would have established clearer crypto oversight frameworks. With legislative action stalled, CFTC Chair Michael Selig indicated the agency would proceed using existing authority, stating in a public post that the CFTC was "locked in and ready to ship its rules for the new frontier of finance." SEC Chair Paul Atkins separately affirmed plans to act "with or without legislation" to provide regulatory certainty for digital assets.

Concurrently, the SEC approved a temporary exemption allowing certain platforms to facilitate limited onchain trading of tokenized U.S. stocks through permissioned automated market makers and liquidity pools, subject to strict participation thresholds and disclosure requirements.

The developments reflect a shift toward regulatory engagement with decentralized finance infrastructure using existing legal frameworks, as agencies navigate the intersection of traditional financial oversight and emerging onchain technologies without introducing new statutory requirements.