Phantom and Hyperliquid proposed new CFTC cryptocurrency rules
7/10/2026, 08:55 AM • Евгения Слив

The Phantom crypto wallet and the Hyperliquid Policy Center have officially appealed to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) with a massive initiative to reform American crypto regulation. The core idea of the proposed reform is the fundamental separation of blockchain infrastructure creators from financial service providers. The authors draw a direct analogy with internet service providers, who ensure technical connectivity for brokerage firms but are not themselves considered full-fledged financial market participants. Software developers merely create a tool for conducting business but do not conduct it themselves, which is why current legal uncertainty forces innovative teams to move to other jurisdictions.
To eliminate these barriers, Phantom and HPC have formulated three specific proposals for modernizing the legislative framework. First, the regulator must officially establish that the mere publication or development of on-chain protocols does not require mandatory registration. Second, it is necessary to provide clear and transparent rules for the use of blockchain infrastructure by already registered exchanges and clearing organizations. Third, the status of non-custodial wallets must be fixed at the regulatory level, confirming that they are not financial intermediaries, which fully aligns with the philosophy of self-custody and direct peer-to-peer transactions, where code replaces traditional brokers.
This initiative fits perfectly into the new vector of US state policy in the field of digital assets, which is being actively formed with the support of the Donald Trump administration. Against the backdrop of the signing of the relevant executive order, the Federal Reserve has already begun discussing special payment accounts for fintech, and the SEC is preparing a separate regulatory framework. Although the adoption of the comprehensive CLARITY Act, which delineates the powers of the SEC and CFTC, is currently stalled in the Senate, the current steps by regulators give the industry long-awaited clarity. Crypto enthusiasts and experts unanimously support this approach, believing that a clear distinction between technological infrastructure and financial intermediation will become a catalyst for the return of global innovations to the American market.
