SEC and CFTC Sign Historic MOU Ending Years of Crypto Regulatory Conflict

SEC and CFTC sign historic MOU classifying Bitcoin and Ethereum as digital commodities under CFTC jurisdiction, ending years of regulatory turf war.

SEC and CFTC Sign Historic MOU Ending Years of Crypto Regulatory Conflict SEC and CFTC sign historic MOU classifying Bitcoin and Ethereum as digital commodities under CFTC jurisdiction, ending years of regulatory turf war. March 13, 2026 Key Takeaways: The SEC and CFTC signed a Memorandum of Understanding on March 11 formally classifying Bitcoin and Ethereum as digital commodities under CFTC jurisdiction. The Joint Harmonization Initiative establishes coordinated oversight across policymaking, enforcement, and examination functions for digital assets. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins and CFTC Chairman Michael Selig described the agreement as the end of regulatory turf wars that have paralyzed the crypto industry for years. On March 11, the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission signed a Memorandum of Understanding that formally aligns their oversight of digital assets. The agreement classifies Bitcoin and Ethereum as digital commodities under CFTC jurisdiction, while tokens issued through capital-raising mechanisms remain under SEC securities oversight. The MOU creates a Joint Harmonization Initiative co-led by Robert Teply at the SEC and Meghan Tente at the CFTC. Priority areas include clarifying product definitions through joint rulemakings, modernizing clearing and collateral frameworks, and providing a regulatory framework for crypto assets. The Turf War That Cost the Industry Years Under former SEC Chairman Gary Gensler (2021 to 2024), the SEC pursued enforcement actions against Ripple, Coinbase, Binance, and dozens of smaller projects while maintaining that nearly all crypto assets qualified as securities. The CFTC simultaneously classified BTC and ETH as commodities. That contradiction left exchanges and institutional investors in leg