Morning Minute: The CFTC Just Approved US Spot Crypto Trading

Morning Minute is a daily newsletter written by Tyler Warner. The analysis and opinions expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Decrypt. Subscribe to the Morning Minute on Substack.

GM!

Today’s top news:

Crypto majors dip 2-4% overnight; BTC at $91,300
Larry Fink says sovereign wealth funds are buying the BTC dip
CFTC approves spot crypto trading in US, starting with Bitnomial
Jack Maller’s Twenty One approved to list on NYSE, with $4B in BTC
MetaMask integrates Polymarket in wallet; Kalshi partners with CNBC; Myriad introduces Pools

🏛️ The CFTC Just Approved U.S. Spot Crypto Trading

Barriers keep falling down, and institutional adoption is here.

📌 What Happened

The CFTC has formally approved spot crypto trading on CFTC-regulated exchanges, a first in the U.S.

Newly approved rules allow CFTC-registered exchanges to list spot Bitcoin and Ethereum markets. And Bitnomial is expected to be the first venue to launch under the new framework.

Until now, spot crypto trading in the U.S. has lived in a regulatory gray zone.

It was supervised indirectly but never explicitly approved.

This is the first time that the CFTC has authorized a federally regulated spot market.

And it comes in a hallmark week that included Vanguard and Charles Schwab opening their doors to spot crypto ETF trading.

🗣️ What Are They Saying

“For the first time ever, spot crypto can trade on CFTC-registered exchanges that have been the gold standard for nearly a hundred years, with the customer protections and market integrity that Americans deserve.” – CFTC Chair Caroline Pham

🧠 Why It Matters

The U.S. now has the beginnings of a fully regulated spot crypto market, something institutions have been waiting for for years.

At the same time, retail investors at Schwab and Vanguard, two of the largest brokerages in the country, now have the ability to buy crypto ETFs with the click of a few buttons.

This is what has been accomplished in the past few months:

A new regulated trading venue for institutions
New distribution channels for retail

It’s never been easier to enter the crypto market than it is right now.

Now we will see who indeed enters. And who all of this plumbing is being built for…

🌎 Macro Crypto and Memes

A few Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:

Crypto majors are red and down 2-4%; BTC -2% at $91,400; ETH -2% at $3,130, BNB -2% at $893, SOL -4% at $136
ZEC (+4%) and TRX (+2%) led top movers
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said sovereign wealth funds have been steadily accumulating Bitcoin, and “bought more” as BTC fell from $126K into the $80K range to build long-term positions
The IMF warned stablecoin adoption could weaken central bank control in a new report on currency substitution and monetary sovereignty risks
Solana and Coinbase’s Base network were connected via a new bridge secured by Chainlink and Coinbase infra
The CFTC approved spot crypto trading on CFTC-registered exchanges, with Bitnomial up first
Reform UK received Britain’s largest-ever political donation from a living donor, a Tether-linked investor who contributed $11.4M
Recent research suggested that October-November’s ~$4B Bitcoin ETF outflows came mainly from leveraged basis-trade unwinds across major funds rather than panic-selling

In Corporate Treasuries / ETFs

In Memes / Onchain Movers

Memecoin leaders are mostly red down 1-5%; DOGE -3%, Shiba -4%, PEPE -4%, PENGU -4%, BONK -4%, TRUMP -2%, SPX -5%, and FARTCOIN -1%
CHILLHOUSE (+40%) and KABUTO (+20%) were notable movers

💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker

Here’s a rundown of major token, protocol and airdrop news from the day:

Aster completed its S3 ASTER buyback and burn of 77.86M tokens, with another 77.86M tokens locked
MetaMask integrated Polymarket prediction markets directly in wallet
Myriad introduced Myriad Pools, providing more liquidity depth, revenue share & new incentives for providers
Kalshi announced a new integration with CNBC just a day after the CNN integration
Lighter announced spot trading to go live later this week
PRIME went live on Kamino, offering real-estate-backed yield up to 8% apy

🚚 What is happening in NFTs?

Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:

NFT leaders were mostly flat; Punks even at 30.49 ETH, Pudgy -1% at 5.33, BAYC even at 5.65 ETH; Hypurr’s -5% at 563 HYPE
Doodles (+5%) and Infinex Patrons (+5%) led notable movers
XCOPY’s bubbles are approaching the 1M mint mark, with 848,000 in supply this morning