Securities Regulation Daily Wrap Up, REGULATION TRACKER—Upcoming SEC and CFTC comment deadlines and effective dates, (Aug 31, 2026)

By WK Editorial Staff

A table of proposed rule comment dates and final rule effective and compliance dates for SEC and CFTC rulemaking.

Recent SEC activity includes the following:

EU debt obligations. The SEC proposed amendments to Exchange Act Rule 3a12-8 to add the debt obligations of the European Union (EU) to the list of foreign government debt obligations designated as "exempted securities" solely for the purposes of futures marketing and trading. The proposed amendments would place futures contracts on European Union debt obligations under the exclusive jurisdiction of the CFTC, consistent with the regulatory treatment already afforded to futures on the debt obligations of several EU member states currently listed under Rule 3a12-8. The offerings of the underlying debt obligations themselves would remain subject to the federal securities laws.

Regulation Crypto Assets. The SEC proposed "Regulation Crypto Assets" to create a new regulatory framework for non-security crypto assets subject to an investment contract. The proposed rules build on a March 2026 interpretation that clarified how the federal securities laws apply to certain crypto assets and transactions. The proposed rules would create two new exemptions for securities offerings and a conditional safe harbor from the term “investment contract.” The proposal would also preempt state securities law requirements for offers and sales of covered investment contracts issued pursuant to the regulations.

Regulation E-Delivery. The SEC proposed a new rule to make e-delivery the default standard for satisfying disclosure requirements. Currently, recipients have to opt in to electronic delivery; Regulation E-Delivery would allow entities to deliver information electronically without first obtaining affirmative consent. In order to rely on Regulation E-Delivery, the recipient must have provided an electronic address, and the entity must have provided a prominent disclosure to the recipient that it will send information electronically. The rule would permit two methods of e-delivery depending on whether or not the delivery includes personal financial information.

Regulation NMS. The SEC is proposing to rescind the trade-through rule and the provision regarding locking and crossing quotations for NMS stocks. The proposed rescission of Rules 611 and 610(e) of Regulation NMS is in response to the evolution of the markets since the adoption of the rules in 2005. The Commission says that the rules are no longer needed and that rescinding them would reduce costs for market participants.

Please see the SEC Regulation Tracker for proposal comment deadlines and final rule compliance dates.

CFTC

Recent CFTC activity includes the following:

SEF order book requirement. The CFTC is seeking public comments on proposed amendments to CFTC regulation § 37.3(a)(2) to remove the order book requirement allowing swap execution facilities not to offer an order book for permitted transactions.

CPO/CTA registration exemptions. The CFTC is seeking comments on proposed amendments to part 4 of the CFTC’s regulations addressing registration requirements for commodity pool operators (CPOs) and commodity trading advisors (CTAs). The proposed amendments would add an exemption from CPO registration and related CTA registration for certain investment advisers registered with the SEC in relation to commodity pools for which the participants are limited to certain sophisticated investors and which meet other conditions. They would also increase the capital contribution threshold in the current CPO registration exemption for small commodity pools, also known as the small pool exemption, to reflect inflation.

Compute markets. The CFTC issued a request for comment to better inform its understanding and oversight of derivatives markets in compute. This request seeks comment on the size, liquidity, and other considerations with respect to compute cash markets, market oversight and manipulation concerns, customer protection, and perpetual compute futures. The request also welcomes comment on all aspects of the compute markets.

Portfolio margining. The CFTC and SEC issued a joint request for public comment on potential approaches to further harmonize regulatory frameworks applicable to portfolio margining across securities, security-based swaps, futures, swaps, and related positions. The joint request for comment seeks input on a range of issues, including: (1) Existing portfolio margining models and practices; (2) Customer protection considerations; (3) Cross-margining and cross-product offsets; (4) Capital, segregation, and collateral treatment; (5) Risk management and margin methodologies; (6) Clearing agency and derivatives clearing organization considerations; (7) Operational and technical implementation issues; and (8) Potential impacts on market liquidity and competition.

24/7 trading and perpetual futures. The CFTC issued a request for public comment on: (1) the extension of standard futures contracts to 24/7 trading; and (2) perpetual contracts referencing physically delivered or storable energy commodities, such as crude oil. The request for comment is organized around two sets of questions. The first concerns the extension of standard futures contracts—including energy futures—to a 24/7 schedule without any change to their fixed expiration, with material economic changes to delivery or settlement terms. The second concerns perpetual contracts when they reference physically delivered or storable energy commodities.

Derivatives product definitions. The CFTC and SEC are requesting public comment on potential opportunities to further update, clarify, and harmonize certain derivatives product definitions and interpretive issues. The joint request for comment seeks input on topics including: (1) definitions relating to swaps and security-based swaps, including the scope of certain exclusions from the swap definition; (2) treatment of mixed swaps; (3) treatment of novel or emerging products; (4) jurisdictional and interpretive questions; (5) potential areas in need of greater clarity regarding regulatory definitional lines; and (6) potential areas for alternative compliance.

Swap data reporting. The CFTC and SEC are requesting public comment on potential changes to the design, scope, and structure of swap and security-based swap data reporting requirements. The joint request for comment seeks input on the operational, technological, and policy implications of the following topics: (1) harmonization across frameworks; (2) transparency and data quality; (3) operational complexity; (4) standardized identifiers and reference data; and (5) implementation considerations.

Prediction markets. The CFTC is proposing to amend rules concerning event contracts offered on prediction markets. The amendments would further specify the types of event contracts that may be subject to a determination that they are contrary to the public interest, such that they may not be listed for trading or accepted for clearing. The amendments would also set out factors the Commission would consider; modify the determination procedure; and provide definitions for “gaming” and a rule regarding when contracts “involve” an underlying activity.

Affiliations between CFTC-registered entities. The CFTC proposed new rules and amendments to address increased affiliations between CFTC-registered entities—including derivatives clearing organizations, designated contract markets, swap execution facilities, futures commission merchants, and other market participants—such as market makers. The proposal addresses financial oversight, disclosure requirements, conflicts of interest, sharing of resources, and sharing of non-public information, among other topics.

Please see the CFTC Regulation Tracker for proposal comment deadlines and final rule compliance dates.

RegulatoryActivity: BrokerDealers InvestmentAdvisers CFTCNews CommodityFutures ClearanceSettlement Derivatives ExchangesMarketRegulation FinancialIntermediaries FormsFilings PublicCompanyReportingDisclosure RiskManagement SECNewsSpeeches Swaps