CFTC Staff Opens Trust Company Route For Daily Settlement
The CFTC’s November announcement addresses clearing house settlements through trust companies, with bank requirements retained.
US derivatives clearing houses have a conditional route to use trust companies for daily settlements with their members. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s press release dated 5th November 2026 says its Division of Clearing and Risk issued a staff letter addressing that process. Clearing houses using the route must apply the relevant settlement bank requirements to the trust company.
The practical problem is a difference between holding customer funds and moving them through daily settlement. In its request dated 29th October, Nodal Clear says customer protection provisions recognise banks and trust companies as depositories, but daily settlement requirements refer to banks. Its request asks staff to address that gap.
Nodal is the interested applicant behind the letter. It says it clears Nodal Exchange and Coinbase Derivatives and is preparing to accept stablecoins as initial margin collateral, assets posted to secure trading positions. That is a stated preparation, rather than evidence that stablecoin acceptance has begun. Our stablecoin explainer explains the tokens’ backing and redemption arrangements.
Nodal’s request describes daily settlement as paying or receiving funds with clearing members, including initial and variation margin. It argues trust companies would let digital assets fit into existing collateral movement workflows. The request also identifies obligations for choosing and monitoring settlement institutions and ensuring settlement finality. These requirements concern the clearing house’s handling of the arrangement, rather than simply where collateral is stored.
Under letter 26-30, staff will not recommend enforcement against any derivatives clearing organisation using a trust company for daily settlements if it treats that company as a settlement bank for Regulations 39.14(c) and (d). The position therefore extends beyond Nodal, while retaining those conditions.
The letter represents the division’s view and is not binding on the Commission. It concerns enforcement action, rather than a legal conclusion about the applicability of every provision. Other requirements remain, changed material facts may affect reliance, and staff can modify or withdraw the position.
Our report on European stablecoin service restrictions examines how rules distinguish between holding, transferring and trading tokens. Here, the documented US route addresses the settlement intermediary. It does not itself establish an approved token list or a date when Nodal’s planned stablecoin collateral service becomes available.
