WASHINGTON— The Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission said they have entered into a new memorandum of understanding aimed at improving coordination between the two agencies, part of a broader push to reduce overlapping rules, clarify jurisdictional boundaries and support what both regulators described as “lawful innovation” in U.S. financial markets.
In a joint announcement, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said the agreement is intended to address long-standing friction between the agencies, arguing that “regulatory turf wars,” duplicative registrations and conflicting rulebooks have hampered innovation and pushed activity offshore. CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig similarly said the MOU is designed to modernize the agencies’ frameworks, eliminate unnecessary burdens and create more seamless oversight as markets evolve.
Alongside the MOU, the agencies launched a Joint Harmonization Initiative that will coordinate policy, examination and enforcement work in areas where SEC and CFTC jurisdiction overlap. The initiative will focus on clarifying product definitions, modernizing clearing, margin and collateral rules, easing compliance for dually registered exchanges and intermediaries, streamlining regulatory reporting, and building what the agencies called a “fit-for-purpose” framework for crypto assets and other emerging technologies.
The harmonization effort will be co-led by Robert Teply at the SEC and Meghan Tente at the CFTC. The agencies said the move builds on earlier efforts to better align their regulatory approaches and invited public input through written submissions and meeting requests, signaling the initiative could shape future rulemakings with implications across derivatives, securities and digital-asset markets.