CFTC Approves U.S. Spot Crypto Trading; Institutions Accelerate Bitcoin Accumulation

Source: CryptoNewsNet Original Title: Morning Minute: The CFTC Just Approved U.S. Spot Crypto Trading Original Link:

Market Overview

Crypto majors dipped 2-4% overnight with Bitcoin at $91,300. Notable movers included ZEC (+4%) and TRX (+2%).

CFTC Approves U.S. Spot Crypto Trading

Barriers continue to fall as institutional adoption accelerates.

What Happened

The CFTC has formally approved spot crypto trading on CFTC-regulated exchanges for the first time in the U.S. Newly approved rules allow CFTC-registered exchanges to list spot Bitcoin and Ethereum markets, with Bitnomial expected to be the first venue launching under this new framework.

Previously, spot crypto trading in the U.S. existed in a regulatory gray zone—supervised indirectly but never explicitly authorized. This marks the first time the CFTC has authorized a federally regulated spot market, arriving in a significant week that also saw Vanguard and Charles Schwab opening access to spot crypto ETF trading.

Why It Matters

The U.S. now has the beginnings of a fully regulated spot crypto market, something institutions have sought for years. Simultaneously, retail investors at two of the country’s largest brokerages now have easy access to crypto ETFs.

Recent accomplishments include:

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

Entry into the crypto market has never been more accessible.

Key Headlines

Macro & Institutional Activity

• BlackRock CEO Larry Fink reported that sovereign wealth funds have been steadily accumulating Bitcoin, including additional purchases during recent dips from $126K to the $80K range
• The IMF warned that stablecoin adoption could weaken central bank control in a new report on currency substitution and monetary sovereignty risks
• Solana and a major DEX network were connected via a new bridge secured by Chainlink
• Recent research suggested that October-November’s ~$4B Bitcoin ETF outflows came mainly from leveraged basis-trade unwinds rather than panic-selling

Corporate & ETF Developments

• XRP spot ETFs extended their inflow streak to 13 consecutive days, approaching $1 billion AUM
• SUI received approval for its first 2x leveraged ETF
• Bitcoin treasury firm Twenty One got approval to list on NYSE with approximately $4B in BTC

Tokens & Protocols

• Aster completed its buyback and burn of 77.86M tokens with another 77.86M locked
• MetaMask integrated prediction markets directly into the wallet
• Myriad introduced Myriad Pools with enhanced liquidity and revenue sharing
• Kalshi announced integration with a major news network
• Lighter announced spot trading launching this week
• PRIME went live offering real-estate-backed yield up to 8% APY

Market Sentiment

• Memecoin leaders mostly declined 1-5%
• NFT leaders remained mostly flat with established collections holding steady
• Doodles (+5%) and other collections led notable gains