U.S. commodities firms can invest in tokenized assets, use blockchain records: CFTC

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is continuing to hang the welcome sign for crypto and blockchain activity in the derivatives space, advising regulated firms that tokenized assets can be treated the same as the things being tokenized and blockchains are sufficient for recordkeeping.

The agency issued updated guidance on Thursday that instructed platforms overseen by the CFTC that customer funds can be invested in the tokenized forms of assets that already check the box as permissible. The regulator said the firms need to ensure that "the tokenized form of the asset grants the holder legal and economic rights that are the same or functionally equivalent to the rights received by holders of the asset in its traditional form" and that the assets are properly held.

The CFTC also added several points about the use of blockchains as official transaction records, saying the agency staff "would not object if a records entity utilized blockchain (or distributed ledger) technologies to create and maintain onchain records and satisfy its recordkeeping obligations." It applies to any CFTC regulations involving recordkeeping and maintenance of regulatory data, the regulator said.