U.S. Crypto Trading Plan: What Does the 28-Day Wallet Rule Mean?
The regulatory plan announced by CFTC Chair Michael Selig aims to clarify the exception for delivering crypto assets to a personal wallet within 28 days, while putting registered intermediaries at the center of covered retail investor transactions.
According to Wu Blockchain, Selig shared details on how the previously announced frameworks, Regulation CTX and Regulation CAM, would work. The proposals generally require covered retail crypto transactions to be conducted through intermediaries registered as futures commission merchants (FCMs).
Requirements for these firms are under consideration, including keeping customer assets separate from the company’s own assets, capital adequacy, anti-money laundering measures, and proof of reserves. The plan also addresses requirements for how intermediaries protect customer assets.
What would the 28-day delivery standard change?
Under the proposed clarification for on-chain transactions, delivering crypto assets to an external wallet controlled by the user within 28 days could generally qualify for the “actual delivery” exception.
The decisive factor is that the asset comes under the user’s control. The proposal aims to clarify the conditions under which delivery in this way would qualify for an exception under the relevant transaction rules; it does not impose a general 28-day withdrawal requirement on all crypto users.
A separate approach for software developers only
Selig said work is also underway on a permanent regulatory policy for software developers who do not hold customer assets, solicit or accept orders, or control the execution of transactions. The aim is to address the position of developers who only publish software separately.
The CFTC chair also cited the agency’s joint crypto asset classification with the SEC, listing Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Stellar (XLM), Tezos (XTZ), and XRP as examples of digital commodities. This reference is based on the existing classification, while details on intermediaries and delivery are still at the proposal stage.