CFTC Lets Clearinghouses Use Trust Companies for Settlement
A no-action letter issued in early November eases the settlement-bank rules for derivatives clearinghouses, as community bankers challenge OCC crypto trust charters in court.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Banking
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The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Division of Clearing and Risk issued Staff Letter 26-30 on November 5, saying it will not recommend enforcement against clearinghouses that use trust companies for daily settlements. The relief follows a request from Nodal Clear, the registered clearinghouse for Nodal Exchange and Coinbase Derivatives.
Why it matters
The letter treats trust companies as eligible settlement banks under Regulation 39.14, which could let clearinghouses fold digital assets into collateral operations. The move comes as the Independent Community Bankers of America has sued the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency over its crypto trust charters.
The CFTC letter is a staff-level no-action position, not a formal rule, and it applies to clearinghouses that use trust companies as settlement banks. At least nine crypto trust charters have been cleared by the OCC since December 2025, while national trust banks remain outside FDIC insurance.
The players
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
The federal regulator of U.S. derivatives markets, which oversees clearinghouses and issued the no-action letter through its Division of Clearing and Risk.
Independent Community Bankers of America
A trade association representing community banks across the United States that filed suit challenging the OCC's crypto trust charter approvals.
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
The federal bureau within the Treasury Department that charters and supervises national banks and national trust banks, and has conditionally approved crypto trust charters since December 2025.
The details
Nodal Clear argued that institutions trusted to hold customer funds should be able to handle settlement, and that trust companies would let clearinghouses integrate digital assets into collateral operations. The Independent Community Bankers of America filed suit in early October 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia under the Administrative Procedure Act, seeking to strike an OCC rule and a 2021 interpretive letter and to rescind the Protego Holdings charter.
Timeline
December 2025: The OCC began conditional approval of crypto trust charters.
October 29: Nodal Clear submitted its no-action letter request to the CFTC.
Early October 2026: The Independent Community Bankers of America sued the OCC and Comptroller Jonathan Gould.
November 5: The CFTC issued Staff Letter 26-30.
Market Dynamics
The letter clarifies that CFTC Regulation 39.14's settlement bank definitions do not exclude trust companies, extending a rule written for traditional banks to a newer class of institution. It arrives as the OCC's crypto trust charter program, which has cleared at least nine charters since December 2025, faces a direct legal challenge from community bankers.
Trust companies that gain eligibility as settlement banks could change how clearinghouses handle collateral and digital assets, which may affect margin and custody arrangements for derivatives traders. Because national trust banks carry no FDIC insurance and cannot take deposits or make loans, account holders should confirm what protections apply before relying on them.
The takeaway
Settlement infrastructure for derivatives is increasingly being opened to institutions outside traditional banking, so the scope and legality of that expansion now sits with the courts. Readers with exposure to clearinghouse margin or crypto custody should watch both the CFTC letter's conditions and the pending lawsuit.
Further reading
For related coverage, see the Banking section.
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