SEC and CFTC Bury the Hatchet, Strike Game-Changing Pact to Jointly Police Crypto ⋆ ZyCrypto

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America’s top market regulators are joining forces where their responsibilities collide. 

In a new memo unveiled Wednesday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) signaled a major step toward building a coordinated regulatory framework for the crypto sector, putting an end to decades of “regulatory turf wars” between the two agencies.

Joint Roadmap To Regulatory Clarity For Crypto

In the memorandum of understanding, the SEC and the CFTC said the rise of emerging technologies—particularly crypto—has made this a “pivotal moment” to align their regulatory efforts and strengthen market oversight.

The memo lays out sweeping plans for cooperation, including joint supervision, aligned product approvals, shared policy guidance, coordinated enforcement actions, and dual registration — moves that could reshape oversight across much of the regulated crypto sector.

Regulators presented the agreement as a long-overdue fix to years of disjointed and overlapping oversight.

“For decades, regulatory turf wars, duplicative agency registrations, and different sets of regulations between the SEC and CFTC have stifled innovation and pushed market participants to other jurisdictions,” SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said in a Wednesday statement. “By aligning regulatory definitions, coordinating oversight, and facilitating seamless, secure data sharing between agencies, we will ensure our rules and regulations deliver the clarity market participants deserve.”

Among the pact’s key objectives is creating a “fit-for-purpose regulatory framework for crypto assets” and other rapidly emerging technologies.

Under the agreement, SEC and CFTC teams will meet regularly and share information on shared priorities. Historically, enforcement actions were handled separately, sometimes putting crypto firms in the crosshairs of both agencies at once. Going forward, overlapping cases will see the regulators coordinate on charges, relief, filing order, litigation tactics, and public messaging.

Even though MOUs aren’t legally binding, the agencies’ clear intent to cooperate on policies affecting crypto could be a positive signal for supporters of the digital asset sector.

Both the SEC and CFTC have taken huge steps to advance US President Donald Trump’s goal of positioning the U.S. as the “crypto capital of the world,” creating a crypto-focused task force and an advisory committee to support innovation in crypto, AI, and other emerging technologies.