SEC and CFTC Announce Joint Initiative to Harmonize Market Regulations

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have issued a joint statement outlining plans to align and harmonize regulatory oversight across U.S. financial markets. As part of the initiative, the two agencies will co-host a joint public roundtable on September 29, 2025. In the statement, SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins and CFTC Acting Chairman Caroline D. Pham characterized the effort as a critical move toward delivering regulatory clarity to market participants, investors, and the broader public. The leaders emphasized that working in close coordination allows both agencies to optimize the U.S. regulatory structure. The regulators pointed to a recent joint staff statement regarding spot crypto asset products as an initial step in their shared agenda. Under existing statutory authorities, the agencies plan to evaluate several key areas for potential alignment, including product and trading venue definitions, data and reporting standards, capital and margin frameworks, and coordinated innovation exemptions. The upcoming roundtable will focus on discussing these harmonization priorities in detail. The event is scheduled to take place from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the SEC headquarters in Washington, D.C. It will be open to the public with in-person registration and broadcast live via webcast on the SEC website, with an archived recording to be made available afterward. According to Atkins and Pham, the collaborative effort aims to lower unnecessary regulatory barriers, boost market efficiency, support financial innovation, and reinforce the competitiveness of U.S. capital markets.