WASHINGTON, March 11 — The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Wednesday they had entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to guide coordination and collaboration between the two agencies and support lawful innovation, market integrity, and investor and customer protection.
The agencies announced the agreement alongside the creation of a Joint Harmonization Initiative intended to advance coordinated oversight and promote regulatory clarity in areas of common regulatory interest.
The initiative is intended to support coordination across the policymaking, examination, and enforcement functions of the two regulators and address areas where their regulatory responsibilities intersect.
Coordination across shared regulatory areas
According to the agencies, the memorandum provides a framework for consultation, cooperation, information exchange, and data sharing in areas of common regulatory interest, subject to applicable law.
The agreement identifies several areas where the SEC and CFTC intend to clarify, coordinate, or harmonize regulatory approaches, including clarifying product definitions through joint interpretations and rulemakings, modernizing clearing, margin, and collateral frameworks, reducing frictions for exchanges, trading venues, and intermediaries registered with both regulators, and streamlining regulatory reporting for trade data, funds, and intermediaries.
The memorandum also provides for coordination of cross-market examinations, economic analyses, risk monitoring, surveillance, and enforcement activities.
Crypto assets and emerging technologies
The memorandum states that the agencies will work toward “providing a fit-for-purpose regulatory framework for crypto assets and other emerging technologies.”
The SEC and CFTC oversee different segments of U.S. financial markets. The SEC regulates securities markets and investment products, while the CFTC oversees derivatives markets and certain commodity-based instruments.
Coordination between the agencies has long been considered relevant for products and market structures that span securities and derivatives regulatory frameworks.
The memorandum also states that the agencies may coordinate procurement activities, where practicable, including with respect to acquiring on-chain market data and related analytical tools.
Guiding principles of cooperation
The memorandum outlines principles intended to guide cooperation between the agencies while preserving their independent statutory authorities.
These principles include respect for each agency’s statutory mandate, regulatory efficiency, good-faith collaboration, regulatory clarity and consistency, and a functional and risk-based approach to supervision that considers the economic realities of market activity.
The agreement states that coordination is intended to provide greater regulatory clarity, reduce uncertainty, and help ensure that U.S. markets remain globally competitive and attractive to innovators and investors.
Replacement of prior agreement
The memorandum states that it supersedes the Memorandum of Understanding between the SEC and CFTC regarding coordination in areas of common regulatory interest and information sharing dated July 11, 2018.
The agencies said the Joint Harmonization Initiative will be co-led by Robert Teply of the SEC and Meghan Tente of the CFTC.
The new agreement was signed by SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins and CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig and took effect on March 11, 2026.
