CFTC Eyes 24/7 Trading as Tokenized Collateral Gains Ground

CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig told attendees at the 2026 U.S. Treasury Market Conference in Washington, D.C. on September 22 that the agency must prepare markets for mass tokenization, stablecoin integration and the possibility of continuous, 24/7 trading. Selig framed the remarks as his own perspective as Chairman, not a formal Commission position, in a keynote address published by the CFTC.

What the CFTC Says It Is Preparing For

Selig’s core argument is that markets are already shifting under regulators’ feet. He said markets are increasingly operating across digital infrastructure through blockchain technology, stablecoins and other emerging tools, and that participants now expect trading venues to be accessible, efficient and, in some cases, available continuously around the clock.

The chairman described tokenized real-world assets as a potential foundation for near-instantaneous settlement and real-time collateral mobility across clearinghouses, intermediaries and end users – language that echoes broader industry moves toward onchain settlement of tokenized securities. He said the Commission intends to provide clear, principles-based rules as tokenization and onchain finance evolve, rather than retrofitting legacy frameworks piecemeal.

On the concrete side, Selig pointed to steps already taken: the agency expanded the list of eligible tokenized collateral to include certain payment stablecoins issued by national trust banks, and it released a set of frequently asked questions on tokenized collateral use that it continues to update. Those are real, completed actions – but the broader vision of mass tokenization and 24/7 markets remains a stated priority, not a finished rulebook. Selig was explicit that a one-size-fits-all approach to continuous trading is not on the table, and that any transition depends on which asset classes are actually ready.

Selig’s Case for Tokenized Markets

Selig laid out the rationale directly in his remarks: “This means readying our markets for mass tokenization, tailoring legacy frameworks so that innovative technologies, such as blockchains and artificial intelligence (“AI”), can be adopted at scale, and ensuring our market participants are prepared for the world of onchain finance and 24/7 markets.”

He tied that framing to an earlier point in his tenure, arguing that high-quality tokenized collateral has the potential to make liquidity more dynamic and markets more resilient. The comparison he drew was historical rather than speculative – likening a shift to tokenization to the industry’s earlier move from floor-based hand signals to electronic trading.

Why Treasury-Market Structure Matters

The speech leaned heavily on scale to justify urgency. Selig said global derivatives markets have nearly doubled over the past two decades to $1.2 quadrillion in notional value, with the CFTC overseeing nearly half of that. Daily Treasury futures turnover has risen from roughly $200 billion to $900 billion over the same period, while short-term interest-rate futures such as SOFR have climbed from about $2 trillion to $5 trillion.

Open interest tells a similar story: the short-term U.S. interest-rate complex has grown from roughly $10 trillion in 2006 to more than $60 trillion today. USD interest-rate derivatives now average over $2 trillion in daily turnover, up from roughly $300 billion a day in 2007. Selig’s point is that derivatives are no longer just hedging tools layered on top of the cash Treasury market – they’re now core to liquidity, risk transfer and price discovery, which is part of why he argues the agency’s oversight model needs to change alongside the market structure it’s watching, a dynamic that also underpins the growing institutional push toward tokenized infrastructure for Treasuries and other assets.

Regulatory and Clearing Implications

Some of the groundwork Selig cited is already in motion. Earlier this year the CFTC and SEC approved exemptive orders letting CME and FICC expand cross-margining beyond clearing members to customers holding Treasury securities and futures positions – a move intended to let risk be managed more holistically and cut unnecessary margin costs. As part of that order, dually registered broker-dealers and futures commission merchants can now hold customer funds in a commingled account at FICC while keeping customer protections intact.

Selig said he has directed staff to adjust CFTC rules so that futures commission merchants can engage in cleared repo transactions involving customer funds ahead of the June 30, 2027 deadline for Treasury repo clearing – a companion deadline to the December 31, 2026 cutoff for cash Treasuries under the SEC’s clearing mandate. The CFTC and SEC have also sought public comment on harmonizing portfolio-margining frameworks, aiming to better recognize economically related positions and cross-product offsets instead of forcing firms to post duplicative margin.

Stablecoins factor into this picture too. Selig noted that the GENIUS Act is now law and said the Commission is working through how stablecoins function inside its derivatives markets – building on the earlier expansion of eligible collateral and the FAQ guidance already issued. None of this constitutes a mass-tokenization rule, but it’s the regulatory plumbing Selig frames as prerequisite groundwork, a framing consistent with the CFTC’s broader posture on crypto market-structure questions that remain unresolved at the legislative level.

What Comes Next for 24/7 and Onchain Markets

Selig said the Commission is committed to finding additional ways to encourage responsible stablecoin adoption among market participants, exchanges and clearinghouses, and that it expects other clearing agencies to submit similar cross-margining programs for approval. He said he’ll work with the SEC chairman to ensure a smooth transition as those programs go live in the coming months.

On 24/7 trading specifically, Selig was careful to draw a line between asset classes: crypto and precious metals may currently suit continuous trading, he said, while agricultural products, energy and certain financials may not. The agency’s stated task going forward is making sure surveillance systems, margin frameworks and operational safeguards could function continuously if and when markets move that direction – not committing to a timeline for doing so.

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