The U.S. CFTC clarifies pilot requirements for using crypto assets as collateral: BTC/ETH collateral must meet a 20% capital adequacy ratio

According to market news, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has provided detailed guidance on a pilot program for using crypto assets as collateral. The regulatory agency has notified futures commission merchants (FCMs) that participation in the pilot requires submitting a notice to the market participants division, stating the start date for accepting crypto assets as margin. Key points include:

1. Capital Requirements: Only Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoins can be accepted as collateral, with BTC/ETH calculated at a 20% capital adequacy ratio and stablecoins at 2%. Futures brokers participating in the pilot can only accept Bitcoin, Ethereum, or stablecoins in the first three months;

2. Compliance and Reporting Obligations: Futures brokers participating in the pilot must promptly report significant cybersecurity or system issues and submit weekly reports on the total amount of crypto assets in customer accounts;

3. Expansion After Three Months: Other crypto assets may be used as collateral after three months, while some reporting requirements will be terminated;

4. Limited Use: Only the remaining rights of dedicated payment stablecoins deposited into customer segregated accounts are allowed; crypto assets cannot be used for uncleared swap collateral, but eligible tokenized assets may be substituted.

5. Derivatives Clearing Organization Requirements: Clearing organizations that meet CFTC credit, market, and liquidity risk requirements may accept crypto assets and stablecoins as initial margin for cleared transactions.