CFTC international-affairs director flags cross-border oversight gaps in on-chain markets

What changed

Mel Gunewardena called for supervisory arrangements that address rapid cross-border transmission of risk through tokenized assets, stablecoin settlement, smart contracts, and continuous derivatives markets. He said the CFTC is reviewing the architecture through which foreign markets and institutions access the United States and the arrangements supporting that access. The remarks identify early notification, real-time coordination, and clear crisis responsibilities as priorities. They express the speaker's views and do not adopt Commission policy, alter access rights, or establish new obligations.

Who it affects

• Foreign derivatives venues and intermediaries serving U.S. participants
• Advisers and commodity-interest professionals evaluating offshore on-chain derivatives and tokenized collateral

What is still open

• Which access arrangements the review will change, if any
• Whether formal proposals, orders, or supervisory agreements will follow
• The scope and timing of any resulting requirements

What it means for an advisor

• Monitor formal outputs affecting access to foreign on-chain venues
• Include continuous-market incident coordination, collateral dependencies, and cross-border escalation arrangements in relevant venue diligence
• Keep existing authorization and custody assessments separate from this nonbinding signal