Crypto Market Nears $3 Trillion as Bitcoin Jumps Toward $87,400

Michael Selig, Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said that with the potential for "massive tokenization" to take hold in financial markets, regulators need to adapt existing markets to new technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence. Speaking on September 22 at a conference on the U.S. Treasury market held at the New York Fed, Selig said that developments such as tokenization, on-chain finance, and 24/7 trading are likely to change financial markets over the next decade more than the past several decades combined. The CFTC is moving forward on accommodating 24/7 trading; in May it published a staff advisory on 24/7 trading, clearing, and settlement, and in June it sought public comment on matters including 24/7 trading of standard futures contracts, with energy futures such as crude oil in mind. Selig also indicated that he plans to further examine ways to promote the "responsible adoption of stablecoins" by market participants, exchanges, and clearinghouses. Meanwhile, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on the 17th published an "innovation exemption" establishing a framework under which tokenized U.S.-listed equities can be traded on-chain under certain conditions. With the CLARITY Act, which would set a regulatory framework for crypto asset markets, failing to clear a procedural vote in the Senate, the CFTC and the SEC are each pushing ahead with building systems designed for tokenization and on-chain finance.

Elon Musk's X widened its U.S. Cashtag system on Sept. 22, connecting stock, ETF and cryptocurrency pages to five outside trading platforms through a new U.S. Cashtag Partner Program with Coinbase, Gemini, Kraken, Interactive Brokers and Moomoo. Users can now tap "Trade" after opening a supported ticker such as $BTC or $TSLA, with X displaying a live price chart and related posts before showing available trading partners. The actual transaction takes place on the chosen partner's app or website, not on X itself, and execution, eligibility and account terms all sit with the partner exchange or brokerage. Kraken said its Cashtag integration covers nearly 2,500 assets across its centralized and decentralized offerings, while Interactive Brokers said new eligible U.S. clients can get a $100 promotional credit by opening and funding an account through the Cashtag flow. The rollout builds on an earlier X feature called Smart Cashtags and stays separate from X Money, the platform's payments product, which currently offers no direct link for funding trades.