Crypto custodians gain access to the derivatives settlement market via new CFTC relief, though political shifts and lawsuits from banking groups create long-term regulatory uncertainty.
The CFTC's Nov. 5 no-action relief lets clearinghouses use trust companies for daily derivatives settlements, and Coinbase Custody Trust was already expected to provide settlement services under Nodal Clear's 2025 USDC partnership. Separately, Coinbase's national trust bank charter took effect Nov. 6. However, the relief is revocable staff relief, and Democrats winning both chambers on Nov. 3 raises political risk, capping the upside.
Circle is named among major crypto firms that secured US national trust bank approvals from the OCC, reflecting the industry's expansion into federally regulated financial services now reinforced by the CFTC's Nov. 5 settlement relief. The mention is brief, and the same political and legal challenges to trust company charters could limit the benefit.
Following a Nov. 5 CFTC no-action letter, crypto trust companies can now provide daily settlement services for derivatives clearinghouses, a market that saw $8.7 billion in average daily transfers at CME Group in early 2026. While firms like Coinbase and Circle expand their institutional reach, the relief remains revocable and faces scrutiny from a newly elected Congress and traditional banking groups.
Coinbase Custody Trust is expected to provide daily settlement services for derivatives clearinghouse Nodal Clear, a business handling billions per day, and Coinbase also obtained a national trust bank charter effective Nov. 6 that allows federally supervised digital asset custody.
The CFTC relief is a revocable no-action letter rather than a formal rule change, so a change in Commission leadership could withdraw it, and the new Congress taking office in January has greater power to scrutinize the agency's agenda.
Not directly. It opens derivatives settlement work to regulated trust companies generally, and Circle already holds a national trust bank charter from the OCC, so it could compete for such services.