US Regulators Open Door for Crypto Spot Trading on NYSE and Nasdaq

Specifically, SEC- and CFTC-registered exchanges are “not prohibited” from enabling the trading of certain crypto assets, the regulators said in a joint statement late Tuesday.

Registered exchanges such as the NYSE, Nasdaq, CBOE, and CME, among others, are invited to contact the SEC and CFTC to discuss next steps. The statement marks the next step in the loosening of strict crypto rules set in place by former SEC Chair and crypto sceptic Gary Gensler, furthering President Trump’s agenda of “making America the crypto capital of the world.”

“Under the prior administration, our agencies sent mixed signals about regulation and compliance in digital asset markets, but the message was clear: innovation was not welcome,” CFTC Acting Chairman Caroline D. Pham said in the statement, adding: “That chapter is over.”

Trump-appointed SEC Chair Paul Atkins also commented that “market participants should have the freedom to choose where they trade spot crypto assets.”

The move has already prompted some reaction from market participants, as it could attract more capital and higher volumes of activity in the crypto markets.

VanEck’s head of digital assets research Matthew Sigel posted on X that these exchanges “will soon have spot trading for BTC, ETH, and more.”