SEC and CFTC Team Up for First Joint Roundtable in 14 Years
Some of the biggest names in traditional finance and crypto will gather at the SEC headquarters today
Welcome to the Monday edition of the Crypto In America newsletter!
What you’ll read: SEC and CFTC host first joint roundtable in over a decade, Kraken moves closer to going public, key market events to watch this week.
This afternoon, some of the biggest names in traditional finance and crypto will gather at the SEC’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., for a roundtable jointly hosted with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
The event is notable for two reasons. First, it’s the first time in more than 14 years that the sister agencies have joined forces on a joint initiative to harmonize regulatory frameworks for shared priorities like crypto and prediction markets. The last joint roundtable took place on August 1, 2011, focusing on cross-border issues for swaps regulation.
Second, it’s the first time major Wall Street exchange leaders will sit down with their digital counterparts to discuss market operations as one. It’s a striking shift for an industry long treated as fringe and a clear signal that crypto now has a seat at the table in the broader financial system.
One of the three panels will feature Jeff Sprecher, CEO of ICE (parent company of the NYSE), Terry Duffy, CEO of CME Group, and Adena Friedman, CEO of NASDAQ, alongside executives from top crypto and prediction market platforms like Kraken, Polymarket, and Kalshi. Later, representatives from JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Citadel will join a discussion with leaders from Crypto.com, Robinhood, and Jump Trading.
Remarks from SEC Chair Paul Atkins, Democratic Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw, and Acting CFTC Chair Caroline Pham will kick off the event at 1:00 PM EST.
Kraken Unleashes Next Step in IPO Process With $500M Raise
Kraken has taken another big step toward going public with the closing of a $500 million fundraise, valuing the U.S.’s second-largest crypto exchange at $15 billion.
First reported by Fortune, the raise completion comes as Kraken gears up to hit the public markets as early as Q1 next year.
It’s a major acceleration for the exchange, which had raised only around $30 million prior to this year. Recent disclosures show it is profitable, generating about $400 million in revenue in the second quarter. That is well above U.S. rival Gemini, which went public earlier this month and reported just $142 million in total revenue last year with a net loss of $158.5 million.
Gemini debuted on Nasdaq at $28 a share, though it has since traded below that level and now has a market cap of about $2.8 billion. Another exchange, Bullish, which went public in August, is trading near $63 a share with a market cap of $10 billion. Coinbase is around $312 a share with a market cap above $80 billion.
In addition to its U.S. presence, Kraken also had a robust international business and is expanding its product offerings to bring tokenized U.S. stocks such as Apple and Tesla to its overseas customers.
A Kraken spokesperson had no comment on the recent fundraise.
The financial rails of the future are being built on Avalanche. Just ask Citi, JP Morgan, Blackrock or Dinari.
Find out how Avalanche is accelerating global finance.
👀 What To Watch This Week
The shutdown: The federal government is barreling towards a shutdown on Wednesday if a deal between Democrats and Republicans can’t be reached beforehand. The top four Congressional leaders — House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) — are set to meet with President Trump Monday morning in a last-ditch effort to reach a deal and avoid a shutdown and possible mass firings of federal workers.
Market Structure: Chatter among crypto lobbyists suggests the Senate Agriculture Committee may be preparing to release its long-awaited market structure draft, covering digital commodities and how the CFTC will regulate them. It’s the counterpart to the Senate Banking Committee’s draft, which focuses on securities and the SEC side of things. A spokesperson for Senate Ag did not return a request for comment in time for publication.
Here’s what else we’re watching:
Monday
The SEC and CFTC host a joint roundtable on shared priorities at the SEC headquarters at 1:00 PM EST.
Tuesday
BTC in DC, a policy-focused conference, kicks off at the Kennedy Center at 9:00 AM EST.
Wednesday
The Senate Finance Committee holds a hearing on the taxation of digital assets at 10:00 AM EST.
Token2049 kicks off in Singapore. Crypto In America’s Jacquelyn Melinek will be on the ground.
Thursday
Final deadline for the SEC to approve or deny Canary Capital’s application for a spot Litecoin (LTC) ETF.
Friday
The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the September Jobs Report at 8:30 AM EST.
Remember, new editions of the Crypto In America newsletter drop every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 7AM EST.
If you like what you’re reading, don’t forget to subscribe!