While Congress continues to debate comprehensive digital asset legislation, several quieter regulatory developments are moving crypto further into the infrastructure of the traditional U.S. financial system.

In recent days, three crypto- and derivatives-focused trading venues became registered national securities exchanges for limited purposes, Nasdaq Texas adopted updated listing standards addressing digital commodities, and FINRA proposed rules that expressly recognize that member firms may hold certain crypto assets for customers.

Individually, each development is technical. Together, they indicate that federal regulators are building the operational framework through which digital assets may increasingly be traded, listed, and held within regulated financial markets.

Three Trading Venues Enter the National Securities Exchange Framework

The SEC acknowledged notices of registration submitted by:

• Coinbase Derivatives, LLC;

• KalshiEX LLC; and

• Bitnomial Exchange, LLC.

Each venue registered under Section 6(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. This is a limited-purpose registration available to certain CFTC-designated contract markets that trade security futures products.

The registrations became effective when the venues submitted Form 1-N notices to the SEC. Accordingly, the acknowledgments are not equivalent to the SEC approving each platform as a general-purpose securities exchange or authorizing it to trade every type of crypto asset or security.

The development is nevertheless significant. It places three technology-driven derivatives venues within the federal securities-exchange framework for security futures and may provide additional infrastructure for products that bridge digital assets, derivatives, and regulated securities markets.

The SEC notices are available here:

• Coinbase Derivatives registration

• KalshiEX registration

• Bitnomial Exchange registration

Nasdaq Texas Defines “Digital Commodity” in Its Listing Standards

The SEC also granted accelerated approval to amendments to Nasdaq Texas Rule 5711(d), which governs the generic listing standards for Commodity-Based Trust Shares.

The amended standards introduce a definition of “digital commodity.” Under the rule, the term generally refers to a digital asset that is intrinsically linked to a functional crypto system and derives its value from the system’s operation and supply-and-demand dynamics, rather than from expectations of profit based on the essential managerial efforts of others.

The amendments also:

• Permit up to 15% of a product’s net asset value to consist of certain assets that do not independently satisfy the generic listing criteria;

• Allow actively managed Commodity-Based Trust Shares; and

• Add transparency, surveillance, trading-halt, and material nonpublic information protections for actively managed products.

The definition does not create a universal classification for every digital asset. Its legal effect is tied to Nasdaq Texas’s listing rules for Commodity-Based Trust Shares. Nevertheless, incorporating “digital commodity” directly into an exchange’s generic listing standards is an important step toward making crypto-related products part of routine exchange administration.

The SEC’s order is available here: Nasdaq Texas Order No. 34-106268.

FINRA Recognizes That Firms May Hold Crypto Assets for Customers

FINRA’s proposed amendments to Rules 2165 and 3241, together with proposed Rule 2166, contain another important—but easily overstated—development.

Rule 2165 currently provides a safe harbor allowing firms to place temporary holds on certain transactions or disbursements when they reasonably believe that a specified adult is being financially exploited. FINRA proposes replacing references to “funds or securities” with “funds, securities, or other assets.”

In explaining the change, FINRA expressly recognized that member firms may hold crypto assets for customers, including payment stablecoins regulated under the GENIUS Act. The amended terminology would allow the investor-protection framework to cover those assets as well.

This proposal should not be read as independently authorizing FINRA members to begin offering crypto custody. Firms must still address all applicable SEC custody requirements, capital and customer-protection rules, FINRA membership restrictions, anti-money laundering obligations, cybersecurity controls, and state-law requirements.

The notable point is that FINRA is beginning to draft customer-protection rules on the assumption that regulated broker-dealers may hold digital assets—not as a purely hypothetical future activity, but as part of the evolving financial marketplace.

The filing is available here: SR-FINRA-2026-018.

Why These Developments Matter

These actions do not establish a complete federal crypto market-structure regime. They also do not eliminate the need for Congress to resolve larger questions involving agency jurisdiction, spot-market oversight, intermediary registration, custody, and asset classification.

What they demonstrate is that market structure can advance incrementally through exchange registrations, self-regulatory organization rules, listing standards, custody guidance, and customer-protection requirements.

For crypto businesses, broker-dealers, exchanges, token issuers, and asset managers, the practical questions are becoming more operational:

• Which entity is conducting each regulated activity?

• Is an asset a security, digital commodity, payment stablecoin, or another type of instrument?

• Which SEC, CFTC, and FINRA registrations or approvals apply?

• How will customer assets be held, transferred, and protected?

• Can a product qualify under an exchange’s generic listing standards?

• What surveillance, disclosure, cybersecurity, and financial-exploitation controls are required?

The architecture of a regulated U.S. digital asset market is increasingly being built in the details. Companies developing products in this space should evaluate these developments not only as policy signals, but as concrete inputs into entity structure, product design, custody arrangements, and compliance planning.

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This blog post is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Please consult with a Launch Legal attorney regarding your specific situation.