Kraken's parent company, Payward Inc., has publicly endorsed a Commodity Futures Trading Commission initiative to regulate the spot crypto market without waiting for Congress to pass new legislation, according to a report by CoinDesk.

The endorsement places one of the largest US crypto exchanges squarely behind an agency-led path to market structure reform. The CFTC has signaled it is exploring ways to extend its oversight to spot digital asset trading under its existing statutory authority, rather than relying on Capitol Hill timelines that have repeatedly slipped.

What does the support signal?

For years, the CFTC has policed crypto derivatives — futures and swaps on Bitcoin and other tokens — while its sister regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission, has asserted jurisdiction over many spot tokens on the theory that they are investment contracts. That split has left spot trading venues such as Kraken operating in a contested legal zone.

Payward's position aligns with a growing industry view that the CFTC can and should take a more assertive role. A regulator with deep experience in commodity markets and designated contract markets could bring spot venues into a supervised framework faster than a legislative process that has stalled despite multiple draft bills.

Kraken itself has already felt the consequences of the current ambiguity. The exchange has faced regulatory enforcement actions tied to its US operations, and clarifying which agency governs spot trading carries direct operational consequences for its compliance architecture, listing procedures and capital planning.

Why does agency authority matter here?

The CFTC's current mandate covers fraud and manipulation in spot commodity markets, including crypto, but it lacks full registration and surveillance authority over spot trading platforms. Closing that gap normally requires Congress. The question the agency is now weighing is whether existing tools — including its enforcement powers over interstate commodity transactions and its oversight of intermediaries — can support a more comprehensive regime.

Industry backing from a major venue strengthens the CFTC's hand. When regulated entities themselves ask for oversight, the argument that agency action exceeds statutory intent loses force, and the practical case for administrative rulemaking gains credibility.

What are the business consequences?

For exchanges, a CFTC-administered spot regime would likely mean formal registration, custody and reporting standards modeled on derivatives market infrastructure. That carries compliance costs, but it also delivers what the industry has long said it wants: a single, predictable supervisor rather than enforcement-driven ambiguity between the CFTC and the SEC.

For institutional participants, clear spot-market supervision addresses a persistent barrier to entry — counterparty and venue risk at trading venues that operate outside any registration framework.

The debate now moves to whether the CFTC acts on its own authority or waits for lawmakers. With the agency openly exploring administrative routes and major venues such as Payward endorsing them, the window for agency-led spot regulation appears to be widening ahead of the next congressional calendar.