Altcoins News
By Julie Binoche
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What Phantom and Hyperliquid Actually Want. The requested exemptions are targeted. Phantom and Hyperliquid aren't asking the CFTC to abandon…
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The Broader Regulatory Pressure on DeFi. Phantom and Hyperliquid aren't the only ones making noise about this.
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Phantom and Hyperliquid want the CFTC to back off. The two companies have formally pushed the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to modernize its rules around onchain…
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The core argument isn't complicated. Phantom and Hyperliquid say the existing CFTC framework was written with traditional financial intermediaries in mind — think brokers,…
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But the CFTC's current rules don't really make that distinction. The existing framework treats the space with a broad brush, and that creates friction.
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DeFi has grown fast. The whole sector has moved well ahead of the regulatory vocabulary used to describe it.
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More context: SECs 2026 Crypto Rules Target Safe Harbor, Broker-Dealers, and Exchange Act Fixes
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Phantom and Hyperliquid aren't the only ones making noise about this. The push to get regulators to distinguish between custodial and non-custodial services has been building…
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The companies stress that developers and providers without control over customer funds shouldn't face the same level of scrutiny as centralized exchanges or brokers.
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Whether the CFTC sees it that way is unclear. The commission has been active on crypto enforcement in recent years, and there's no obvious signal yet on how it'll handle requests…
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And the stakes aren't small. If the CFTC rules against the exemption — or just stays silent long enough — it could push more development activity offshore.
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Related: North Carolina Fund Manager Faces CFTC Suit Over $14M Crypto Fraud
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Both companies are essentially arguing that a more flexible regulatory environment would bring more participation, more development, and more legitimate market activity into the U.
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The commission has yet to comment on the request, and no response timeline has been made public.
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